You're Still the One
by GemNika
Summary: CoLu Week 2018/2019. Ten years have passed since they last saw each other, but what else are high school reunions for, if not to catch up with your high school sweetheart? (Rated M for a reason).
1. 2018, Day 8: Dance

**A/N: We've come to the final day of CoLu Week, and you guys… The turnout this year with content has been astounding. And I've been so thankful to read each and every one of your amazing reviews every single day. (I'm still way behind on reading what everyone's posted). You have no idea how happy you've made me. This week was just the kick in the pants I needed to get back into really writing. CoLu always brings out the fun ha!**

 **Now, I had a Fantasy AU planned for today, but one week before CoLu Week started, I got an idea, and I wanted to run with it. Besides, the original idea for this prompt was very heavily inspired by** _ **Game of Thrones**_ **(** _ **à la**_ **The Red Wedding… yeah…), and since Day 4 was also** _ **GoT**_ **-inspired, and yesterday was just so fucking** _ **dark**_ **, I figured I'll hold onto the plotting I'd done and use it later on.**

 **So, instead, here's another Modern AU with a high school reunion twist. I hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Also, I wanted to kind of mimic the style I'm using in my** _ **Food Wars**_ **story (** _ **Missed Connection**_ **), so this is written in both present and past tense, with the past tense parts being flashbacks. So when you see it change, keep that in mind.**

* * *

 **Day 8: Dance**

 _ **You're Still the One**_

 _Summary: Ten years have passed since they last saw each other, but what else are high school reunions for, if not to catch up with your high school sweetheart?_

* * *

The fact that the Spirit Committee for the class of 2008 actually got together and planned something as cheesy as a ten-year reunion, isn't all that surprising to Erik. Erza and Mira were and still are, hands down, the most insane people he's ever met. He's tempted to pop one of the balloons creating an elegant silver and white arch over the entrance of the hotel's ballroom. He values his testicles, though, and Mira's watching the arch like a hawk.

At least this shit isn't at the high school. In the gym. He has far too many memories of that place. Namely, never dressing for phys ed, and spending the entire period using it as a study hall for four straight years. Hell no, he wasn't going to be caught dead in those gym shorts. Even to this day, it gives him chills just thinking about having to play basketball the one time he'd actually worn the uniform. Never again.

To his right, Sorano and Macbeth chatter quietly to one another. The only reason he's even here is because they dragged him along. Sorano demanded he come, so he could sit with them and laugh over who gained the most weight. But Erik's grand scheme of saying he has too many papers to grade was foiled by Macbeth… And his knowledge that school was out for summer already.

Bastard.

Erik tries not to pull at the open collar of his deep purple dress shirt, exactly two shades darker than his eye. Sorano says it makes his eye pop more, but he's not sure if that's a good thing, all things considered. He gets enough unwanted attention over only having one eye. He doesn't need people staring at him more.

They stop at a table where Erza and Jellal are seated. Years ago, they'd been a couple, one of the Big Four in their class. Now, she's a lesbian - more power to her - and he's… Erik honestly doesn't know a thing about Jellal's life. And he doesn't care.

Technically, he's not supposed to be here. He never walked across the stage with his graduating class. Oh, he has his diploma, and it says Fiore High School just like theirs do. He'd just had to wait a few extra months to get it in the mail at the new house he'd been shipped to by social services.

Still, Erza smiles when she sees him, and she picks up a name tag that says his name on it.

 _Erik Vivas  
"Cobra"_

Whoever decided that nicknames also needed to be on these is going to get shot. He hasn't heard this name in years. Not since he left this school, and everyone in it, behind. Not even Macbeth (Midnight, his name tag reads) or Sorano (Angel, hers says) call him Cobra. They'd learned that he didn't like thinking about it when they reconnected three years ago.

"Welcome to the reunion, Cobra," Erza says. "It's good to see you back here."

"Yeah," he says. "Blame these two."

Her eyes flash with amusement and she ushers them inside, already turning her attention to the next people to arrive. Erik simply trails along behind Sorano and Macbeth. He waits for them to decide on a table that they'll no doubt spend most of the night sitting at. Neither of them have ever really been all that fond of dancing. Or mingling. They're literally only here to make fun of people. And while that would have appealed to Erik once upon a time - and it still does, if he's being honest with himself - it doesn't sound like much fun that night.

Because he's positive that she'll show up. Of all the people who would be welcomed at a function like a high school reunion, she would be. The sweet, girl-next-door with blonde hair and a smile that could give Willy Wonka a mouthful of cavities. Friends with everyone she meets, with just the smallest rebel streak in her that gets her into trouble on occasion.

"Luce, wait for me!" Natsu yells from somewhere behind him.

Erik's back tenses so quickly, he can feel his spine popping. If he'd been a cartoon cat, he knows he would have screeched and jumped up onto a telephone wire from the sudden shock to his system.

"Natsu, oh my _god_ , relax!" she laughs. The sound is a shot to his heart that he's not sure he'd recover from. He turns just in time to see her being dragged in the opposite direction by Natsu - his pink hair is unmistakable, even after ten years - wearing a slinky black halter dress with a silver butterfly lining the hem and dipping down low on her back. "The shrimp will still be there in two minutes!"

Natsu grins back at her, still pulling her along, and Erik falls into his seat. He's just happy that the thing was available. The last thing he wants, he vaguely reasons, is ending up on Sorano's lap. She'd murder him.

"Wow," Macbeth murmurs. "She's still pretty."

"Definitely surprising," Sorano says. "What with her marriage and all."

Marriage. She'd gotten married. She'd moved on. Erik wishes he'd done the same. He wishes more than anything that he'd been able to make a relationship last even a single year. No one had compared to Lucy. She'd been his whole fucking world, once upon a time. There were days that he woke up, and he let himself dream about the life they could've had.

His high school sweetheart walks across the room from him, and he smiles a secret smile when he sees how her cheeks still puff out from shoving too much shrimp in her mouth.

"Oh my god, look at Reedus," Sorano snickers. "Now _that_ is a large man."

"Wasn't he really into art?" Macbeth asks. He's already yawning. He won't last long.

"He looks like he ate the easel," Sorano says. Erik's lips twitch just a little, and he forces himself to look away from Lucy's golden hair piled high on her head and the graceful line of her neck and shoulders. When he follows their line of sight, Erik laughs. Reedus had been a string bean of a teenager, but he really had packed on the weight.

Maybe, if he sticks with his two friends, this night will go by quickly.

"Holy shit, Gajeel!" Lucy shouts. "How are you doing? You look so great!"

Erik's eye closes so he doesn't have to see her hug Gajeel "Black Steel" Redfox. This night is going to suck.

* * *

The open bar makes it suck a whole lot less. He knows Cana is around somewhere, because his first cup of punch burns his throat and nose so intensely that he wonders if he's ingested sulfuric acid. But this burn is better. Less deadly, but only just. After his second cup, it burns a little less. And he feels a whole lot less like he let Reedus sit on his chest every time he catches a glimpse of Lucy.

He kind of wonders what her nickname is on her name tag. He'd called her so many things back then, but he's sure none of them were all that well-known. They'd been relatively private about their cutesy moments. One of the bonuses of the internet not having been as prevalent back then. He'd been on her Top 8 on Myspace, and people saw them holding hands in the halls. Aside from that, their relationship was just between them.

As the night wears on, he catches glimpses of her. Every time he sees her from his seat at Macbeth and Sorano's table, she's talking with someone else.

Lucy had always been like that. She was a riot at parties, bringing people out of their shells.

"You know, I saw on Facebook that Laki is actually married to Mr. Clive," Sorano mutters.

"We're adults now," Macbeth yawns. "You can just call him Gildarts."

"Either way, it's weird," Sorano says. "At least she didn't bring him to this."

"Probably a conflict of interests," Macbeth says. "He still teaches Woodshop. That's how they met."

"So gross."

"Definitely."

These two are going to give him a fucking migraine. "Well, I'm outta here," Erik says, hauling himself to his feet.

"You're not leaving are you?" Sorano huffs. "We're your ride."

"Because you don't own a car," Macbeth adds.

"Because you never got a license," Sorano says.

"And good luck calling an Uber right now."

"Because Mira and Erza will fuck your day up if you try to leave."

Erik rolls his eye and glares at them, holding up his empty glass. "I'm leaving _you two_ to get more alcohol," he says. "And I can drink this much because you're my ride. And of course I don't own a car and I don't have a license because I actually like riding a bike to work, thank you very much."

He wanders away from them, toward the punch bowl for his third drink. Maybe he should just stay here, getting sloshed.

"Holy shit, Cobra?" Cana laughs and wraps her arm around him. She's only wearing a bikini top and capris. On second thought, he's going to steer clear of this area unless he really needs a drink. "He lives!"

Erik sighs and drinks deeply from his newly filled cup. "Yeah, I am."

"Have you seen Lucy tonight?" she asks, turning him toward the one person he's been trying not to stare at all night. She's in a conversation with Levy now, her best friend since preschool. Natsu's standing close by. Did she marry Natsu, then? That's… odd. "She's such a fox!"

Erik doesn't know what to say. He agrees wholeheartedly with Cana's drunken assessment. But it's not his place to agree. He lost the right to that when he left her waiting for him at the prom.

"You heard about her divorce, right?" Cana continues. "Total shitshow. Happened like, six months ago? He got the house out in California. Their dog, too. Pretty sure she was more upset about the dog than the marriage."

That is... interesting news. Sorano had said Lucy was still married. Maybe her sources aren't as reliable. If there's one thing Erik knows Cana is good for, it's being in everyone's business.

"She moved back in with her parents," Cana says. She finally lets go of him and gives him a half-shove in Lucy's direction. "You should go talk to her!"

"Fuck off, lush," he mutters. Still, his feet carry him through the milling crowd, around the dance floor, and on a mostly direct path to Lucy. He's standing in front of her before he even knows what he's going to say. It's when he sees the surprise in her eyes, how her lips part in shock while she gives him a quick once-over from his maroon hair pulled back into a half-ponytail down to his black blazer, purple shirt and black slacks, that Erik realizes she's just as unsure of how to proceed.

"C-Cobra…"

"Hey, beautiful." He wants to kick himself in the fucking asshole for that, even when he sees that familiar flush on her cheeks. This close to her, he can see that she's aged, but time has been good to her. She looks a whole lot more like Layla now. The smoky eyeshadow and light gloss on her lips has him falling into the honey pools of her eyes. "I mean, uh… Lucy," he says quickly. "Hey, Lucy."

Fuck, that's still too casual. Too familiar.

Goddamnit, he's going to go find a knife and cut out his fucking tongue.

She smiles at him after a moment, and it's that easy sort of smile only she can pull off. The one that sets him at ease, and visibly relaxes the tension in his shoulders.

"Luce, I'm gonna go arm-wrestle Gajeel," Natsu says. At the sound of his voice, Erik remembers they're not the only two people in the room. He turns slightly to see Natsu grin at him.

"I'm not your keeper, Natsu," she laughs. "Just don't break anything."

Natsu waves at them both and walks off. And now they're alone with one another. Erik doesn't know where to begin with her. There are so many things he wants to tell her, excuses for the pain he's sure that his younger self put her through. She hadn't deserved any of it. He'd never wanted to hurt her.

But the only way to get past this awkwardness is to talk. He's never been that great at expressing himself, except with her. Lucy had always just… understood him.

"Elephant in the room," he finally says, downing the rest of his drink. "I'm sorry for disappearing on you."

She's clearly surprised by the turn of their non-conversation.

"Would you believe me if I said that I was a secret agent, and I was undercover at the time?"

She finally laughs and pushes at his shoulder. "Oh, fuck you," she says, but he can see that her smile is still genuine. "Sit with me? We should catch up."

It's the easiest decision he's ever made, agreeing to sit down at a nearby table with her. He doesn't want to be anywhere else. Even if all Lucy wants to do is yell at him and gouge out his only eye, he knows he deserves it.

Once they're settled, she looks into his eye and her smile fades just a little. "What happened back then?" she asks. He can see the pain simmering in her eyes. It's old, but still there. Clearly she hasn't forgotten about it. He doesn't blame her one bit if she hates him. "I waited for you."

With a heavy sigh, he sets his empty cup to the side and places his hand over hers on the table. He takes a moment to look down at her fingers, the way her skin still contrasts his own darker complexion. "You still enjoyed prom, right?" he asks. He has to know.

"No," she says. His eye shoots up to stare at her. "When I realized you weren't coming, I went home. I didn't want to be there, watching all those couple dancing, without you."

"I'm so fucking sorry," he says. He knows an apology isn't enough. Nothing will ever be enough.

"So what happened to you?" she asks. "You full-on ghosted."

"You remember how I was staying in foster care," he says, watching her nod. "My foster parents were cooking meth in the basement, so the cops raided the house."

"Oh my god…"

He smirks and looks back down at their hands. "I'm the one who called the cops when I realized what they were doing," he says. He'd never wanted to get mixed up in that bullshit, and the last thing he'd needed back then was his foster parents getting him arrested as an accessory or some other shit, and ruining his life. "Only problem was… they were supposed to come after I left for the prom."

He'd been so angry when he saw the police that night. He was supposed to be gone, so his foster parents wouldn't try dragging him into anything. He was supposed to be able to dance with his girlfriend, have fun with their friends, kiss her in a prom picture that they'd both bitch about the prices of, and then get anyway. But that hadn't happened.

"I got taken into custody, and had to make a report at the police station," he continues with a frown. "As soon as it was done, my social worker was there, and he hauled me out of the district… even though we were about to graduate."

When he looks back into her eyes, she's sadder than before. He knows it was inevitable. The past was a painful thing for him to remember. And his biggest regret was not being able to tell her goodbye.

"You never called," she says.

"I lost your number." Erik winces. He's always been horrible at remembering phone numbers. Hers was the most important one, and he hadn't been able to remember it. "They took my phone and I never got it back, so…"

"What about writing a letter?" she asks. "Or getting online? Your profile disappeared along with you."

"After the shit that happened, and me being a no-show for prom, I figured you didn't want anything to do with me," he says. He knows now that it was stupid. He shouldn't have deleted his Facebook as soon as he'd gotten to his new foster home. Sure, he'd been in tears at the time, and he'd saved every single picture of Lucy that she'd posted to an external hard drive while he sat at the library, but he should have messaged her. Even if it had been to tell her goodbye forever.

"That couldn't be further from the truth," she says. Her other hand rests on top of his, letting him feel her warmth as she smiles again. "I wish you'd told me."

Before he can say that he knows he should have done things differently, a familiar shadow falls over them. He looks up to find Sorano smiling down at Lucy the same way she always used to when they were in school. She'd never liked Lucy, or that he was dating her. "Sorano?"

"Lucy, what are you doing over here?" she asks, and her voice is sickly sweet with feigned happiness. "Loke's by the punch bowl."

Lucy blinks in surprise and her brows draw together. He follows her gaze across the party to find Loke "Leo" Sterne mingling with some pink-haired woman with a permanent blush on her cheeks. She looks back up at Sorano. "And?"

"And, isn't he your husband?" Sorano asks, cocking her hip out to one side. "You two were disgustingly open with the PDA back in college. I figured you'd still be licking each others' tonsils right about now."

Erik really hadn't wanted to know that she'd married Loke, of all people. He'd been the one everyone said she should date back in high school. All-around sports star, competing in every sport season they had a team for. Nuclear family with a perfect stay-at-home mom, a perfect dad who worked nine-to-five (just like Lucy's parents), a younger sister who was the picture of a saint (even though he'd heard from Macbeth that she was now seriously into the BDSM scene, and went by the name Virgo), a golden fucking retriever named Lucky.

Loke was everything that made a model boyfriend, on paper. He was also a man-whore.

And Lucy had married him? _Him_?

Erik turns back from nearly glaring at Loke to see Lucy smiling up at Sorano. But this smile isn't the same she'd kind given him. "Oh, didn't you hear? Loke left me."

He doesn't need to check to see the triumphant gleam in Sorano's eyes.

"Yeah," Lucy sighs. "I had endometriosis, and it made me infertile." Oh… shit. "So I got a hysterectomy to finally make it so I wasn't in crippling pain any time I had a period."

She… she what? Erik's eye widened and his jaw dropped a little.

"Apparently, Loke wanted kids and he didn't see any reason to stick around," Lucy says, watching Sorano's smile fade. "He had his lawyer drop off the divorce papers when I woke up from my surgery."

Erik glares up at Sorano, and he's actually happy that she looks contrite. And sad. Part of the reason he'd agreed to even come to this thing is because she just found out that she's pregnant, and he knows better than to make her upset right now.

"Lucy, I'm so sorry," Sorano whispers.

She waves away Sorano's concern and gestures back to Loke, sending their attention to the punch bowl. He's kissing that pink-haired woman on the cheek, and her blush deepens when he whispers something to her. "That's the woman he married two weeks after our divorce was finalized," Lucy says. "His secretary. From my understanding, she's _very_ fertile. I think they have three kids already."

Erik's attention shifts from Loke to Sorano, and his brow raises when he sees that she's gone into Full-Valkyrie mode. "That…" Sorano doesn't say anything else as she storms away from their table, on a direct path through the dance crowd toward Loke.

When his eye meets with Lucy's again, he's not sure what to say. "I had no idea," he finally says. "Did the symptoms start-"

Lucy's raucous laughter cuts him off, and he's taken aback by how she doubles over. "Cobra, I'm fine!"

"Wait, what?" She keeps laughing and shaking her head, and his brow furrows. Hadn't Cana said that Lucy got divorced only a few months ago?

"Loke cheated on me, so I divorced his ass and took half his shit!" She's downright cackling. The last time he saw her laugh this much, he'd worn one of her thongs as a dare for the entire school day, and she was handing him a bottle of baby powder through the cracked bathroom door at her parent's house so he could ease the chafing around his taint. She'd ended up literally pissing her pants in the hallway because he wouldn't let her in the bathroom.

"Wait, then who's he with?"

"Hell if I know," she says. "I haven't spoken to him since I found him the roast beef of some girl that literally works at Arby's."

Finally, Erik's head swivels back over toward Sorano. "You lied to Angel?" he asks, bewildered. It's been ages since he called her that. He can't stop himself from smiling. "You're fucking evil."

"But it gets me what I want," Lucy laughs.

"And that is?"

Sorano finally reaches Loke, and there's nothing subtle about how she pushes his shoulder and starts yelling at him. They can't hear what she's saying over the loud, thumping music, but there's quite a bit of gesturing in Lucy's general direction.

"To make his life a living hell," Lucy says. Loke blanches and follow's Sorano's pointing finger to stare at Lucy and Erik. She simply smiles back at his sudden glower, and raises her cup of punch in a silent toast. His brows furrow in anger and he turns back to Sorano, most likely to tell her that Lucy's lying. "This is payback for him not letting me take Plue in the divorce."

"What the hell happened to you?" Erik chuckles. He actually likes this vindictive side of her. He's never seen it before. He doubts she had this in her when they were younger. When he looks back at her, there's a sad smile pulling at her glossy lips while she takes a sip of her drink.

"Years of bullshit and getting left in the dust." That's sobering. His smile fades. He left her hanging back then. Part of this darker side of her is his fault. Maybe he's the reason she even has it in her to begin with. "I'm not the sweet, innocent girl you knew, Cobra. I grew up."

He wants to apologize to her again, but if he does that, then he'll never stop apologizing. When she squeezes his hand, he realizes that he hasn't let her hand go. He's not sure when their fingers had laced together like this, though. It still feels just as natural as it had so long ago. "I never thought you were just some sweet, innocent girl," he says, smirking at her. His thumb brushes across hers, and he watches her eyes dart to the side while she tries to hide her smile from him. "I never would've dated you, if you were."

She laughs and takes the last sip of her drink. They're both silent for a moment, just looking at one another. He can't let himself drift too far into _what-if_ scenarios in his head. He wants to know everything that's happened in her life. It's just a matter of figuring out where to start. College, maybe. But first… "Could I interest you in another Cana Special?"

"Ooh, yes, please," she laughs. "She put the good stuff in it tonight."

He grins and takes her cup. It's nearly physically painful to let her hand go, but he does need a minute to collect himself. And getting her a drink, and another one for himself, will give him just the right amount of space to figure out what the hell his plan is now. Now that he's seen her. Now that they've talked, and now that he knows how easy it is to talk to her still… He doesn't know what to do.

"Oh," Lucy giggles, looking down at their hands. She slowly pulls hers from his grasp. "I should probably give you back your hand."

"I mean, I was considering cutting it off and giving it to you," Erik chuckles. "But this works, too."

She rolls her eyes when he grabs his own empty cup and stands. When she calls him a dork, just like she used to, he's sure his heart is two seconds away from exploding.

* * *

The lighting changes to a soft blue while she waits for Erik to come back with their drinks. Maybe her mom was right. Maybe coming tonight wasn't such a bad idea. She'd been so worried that Erik would show up, that she'd see him and end up in tears. But that hadn't happened. She'd stayed strong. She'd talked to him, and found out the truth about why he'd disappeared ten years ago.

Lucy looks out at the dance floor and smiles at the couples she sees. There are plenty of unfamiliar faces, people who'd married her classmates, or their best friends in their new lives that they'd brought to this reunion for emotional support. It's while she's looking at them all shifting one way and another in a slow dance that she's reminded of prom night.

Specifically, sitting at a table, just like this. Waiting for her boyfriend to show up, since they'd agreed to meet outside the dance. He'd told her that he had something to do first, so he didn't want her to wait around at his house. But when he hadn't showed up after twenty minutes, Lucy went inside and waited for him there. She'd texted him, but he never answered. She'd watched their friends dancing together in a slow rhythm, just like this.

Except, Lucy isn't going to run out in tears tonight. Not like she did at prom. Because this time, she knows he's coming for her.

Movement off to her side draws her attention, and she finds Erik standing right there, holding his empty hand out to her. "Are they out of punch already?" she laughs.

"Lucy," he says slowly, "Would you dance with me?"

Her eyebrows rise quickly, nearly flying off of her head and into the stratosphere. "Wha - huh?"

He chuckles and shuffles on his feet. Just like he used to when he was nervous. "I missed our last dance," he says. "I wanna make it up to you."

Her cheeks are burning while she looks up at him, glances toward the dance floor. It couldn't hurt, she reasons. Just a single dance. That's something she can handle. Lucy's hand gently rests in his palm and she stands. He leads her to the center of the dance floor and they fall into position.

All at once, she feels like they're right back in high school, carefully shifting from one foot to the other while her arms wrap around his shoulders and his hands rest at an appropriate place on her waist.

She doesn't know what to say to him as she looks up into his single eye. He'd had two of them the last time she saw him, but he's more handsome now than ever. It's the hair. It reaches down just past his shoulders now, and instead of being spiked and away from his face in whichever direction it landed in, now it's tamed. It flows down from the half-ponytail it's tied up into. His hair is a slightly darker red than she remembers, and it's thick and…

And she's obsessing over his fucking hair!

Ten years since she's seen him, and Lucy's stuck on his fucking hair?! Well, it's either she focuses on that, or the fact that he looks downright edible in his laid-back business clothes. She'd never imagined him wearing something like this willingly. Maybe it wasn't willing, but he wore his blazer and slacks and dress shoes with an ease that comes from habit. This is probably what he always wears.

"So," Lucy says softly. "What, um… What do you do, now?"

"For work?" he asks, and she nods. "High school science teacher."

That… is completely baffling. Sure, he'd always aced his science classes, and he'd helped her study for every science test she had after they started dating, but being a teacher? He willingly went to a school and _taught_ children?

"You look surprised," he laughs. Lucy's face colors a deep red when she realizes that she's staring at him. "The foster home they put me in after I left, the dad there was a geography teacher. He loved his job, and it rubbed off on me."

"But didn't you turn eighteen that December?" she asks. He couldn't have been with them for very long. How had the man made that much of an impact on him in such a short amount of time?

"They adopted me," Erik said. "I was with them for a month before I told them what happened, how I was taken away from you and everything… and…" He keeps dancing, even though he seems a bit distant now. "They said they'd adopt me, so I wouldn't have to leave when I turned eighteen. I could get my stuff sorted out, and they'd help me go to college. I figured, if they were gonna do all that for me, maybe I should try being a teacher, like Alex is."

"They sound really nice," she says, smiling up at him. When he smiles back, she breathes a little easier. "Wait, you call your dad Alex?"

Erik chuckles and they keep dancing as the song changes to Leona Lewis' _Bleeding Love_. "Yeah, him and his wife said I didn't have to call them Mom and Dad. And even though they adopted me, I kept my last name."

"That's… odd," she says carefully.

His brow raises in amusement. "Would you want me to be Erik Armstrong?"

Lucy blanches before she can school her expression. "No," she says quickly. That name doesn't suit him in the slightest.

"Exactly. They're fine with it. And I live, like, three blocks away from them. Alex still includes me in his rambling about Armstrong family traditions. It's…" His smile is soft, a little shy. She's definitely about to swoon. "It's kinda nice, feeling like I belong with a family."

"I'm happy for you, Erik," she says. "I always hoped… well, you know."

And he does know. They'd talked about it a lot when they were younger. She wanted him to get adopted. For so long before high school, he'd been shifted from one group home to the next. The foster family he'd been placed with just before they met in freshman year hadn't been the most stable, but they made it work. He'd been happy just to live in a house, rather than with a bunch of other kids whose parents were fuck-ups like his.

He'd told her so many times before, how much he loved her family. Even though her father hated him - just because he was a boy and dating his daughter, she suspected - Erik loved being at her house. He especially loved how much Layla doted on him. Her mother had made him one of the family.

Even now, she talks about Erik when she thinks Lucy can't hear her, wondering where he is or what he's doing. It's almost like she's talking about a long-lost son.

"I know," he says, and he smiles again. "I'm happy, too. They really helped me get through that mess back then."

She's almost afraid to ask what he means. Part of her wants to know, but she doesn't want to ruin the mood. Instead, she rests her head on his shoulder and smiles as his hands shift a little lower on her back, clasping just above her dress. It's natural, moving with him like this. God, how many times had they danced just like this in her bedroom, just because they could? And because he was being a total dork…

Erik's nose nestles in her hair. "I'm glad I let Midnight and Angel drag me here tonight," he says.

Lucy's smile widens and she looks up at him. "I'm glad I let Natsu do the same. He was pretty adamant about me coming."

"So were they," he says. His eye narrows at the same time as hers. He looks around the room, and stops dancing entirely. "Oh, what the fuck…"

Lucy frowns and follows his wide-eyed stare. She nearly screams in horror when she sees what's happening at the table Macbeth commandeered as soon as he'd arrived. Natsu's straddling him, with his hands mussing Macbeth's two-toned hair as they kiss like there's no tomorrow. Sorano sits just two seats away, sipping from a bottle of water and eating grapes. Where she got the grapes from, Lucy's not sure, but she looks overly pleased with the erotic show happening right in front of her.

"Those sons of bitches," Erik mutters. Lucy snorts. She tries to bite back a laugh, but it comes flying out of her with enough force that she's stuck holding onto Erik for dear life, or else she's going to fall flat on her ass. It's obvious what their friends did.

She just wishes she'd figured it out a bit sooner.

"They planned this, just to get us…" Erik trails off, laughing when she looks up at him. There are tears in her eyes, but she can't tell if it's from laughing or happiness over how much their friends even give a shit… Or something else.

All she knows is that they made sure she and Erik could see each other again.

"Alright, you bunch of drunks!" a loud voice booms over the speakers when the music comes to an abrupt halt. The lighting changes again, growing brighter as the cheesy disco ball is removed and the main lights in the building are turned on.

Lucy and Erik turn to look up at the DJ for the night. Laxus Dreyar. The most unlikely of students to join the AV club, considering he'd been a martial arts champion when they were still in school. Apparently, he's been roped into handling the music for the night - Lucy thinks this is probably for the best, since he was always a bit socially inept before.

They're both surprised when a spotlight shines directly on them, and everyone around them turns to look. Lucy's just a bit embarrassed when she sees how many people are smiling over whose arms are around her. She looks back up at Laxus, and it's unnerving when she sees the way he's grinning at her and Erik.

"The Class of 2008 never got to see their Prom King and Queen dance," Laxus says into the microphone.

Erik's jaw drops and his back goes rigid as he stares down at Lucy. Right, he never found out that they were crowned King and Queen. He never came back to school to graduate with them, so he wouldn't have heard it from anyone. She shrinks just a little bit and fails miserably at trying to smile. "What?" she asks. "We were an underdog couple."

"Were we even in the running?" Erik asks her.

"Well, yeah," she says. "Remember, you said we'd never win, and I bet you that we would. I put our names in. You even threatened Hibiki when he tried to interview you for the morning show." She smirks a moment later. "Which reminds me, you owe me a McFlurry."

"Dick," he chuckles.

"So we're doing this shit now!" Laxus yells into the microphone. He waits for their classmates' cheers to die down a bit. "I have it from a very reliable source-"

"We all know it's Cana!" Gajeel yells from somewhere by the buffet. "It's always fuckin' Cana! That drunk's been gettin' in people's shit since daycare, I swear to fuckin' Christ!" He's sloshed. Gajeel's always been a sassy bitch when he gets drunk. It's probably why he ended up marrying Cana in the first place.

"Damn straight!" Cana yells back. She's openly pouring two bottles of whiskey into the punch bowl that's just been refilled. Lucy has the errant thought that her spirit animal is a goddamn honey badger.

' _Cana don't care. Cana don't give a shit! She just takes what she wants.'_

"Anyway," Laxus says. "These two even have their own special song, guys."

Lucy blanches when several women coo and _aww_ over the cuteness. "Oh my god," she whimpers, looking up at Erik. "Cana said she'd never tell anyone."

He just shakes his head and stares up at the ceiling. She can't tell if he's angry with her for telling anyone about their song, or that they're being called out on it. If there was one thing she knew about Erik, it was that he liked his privacy. He did back then, and she's sure he still does now. "She's such a fucking gossip," he sighs.

"We don't have to do this," she says quickly, taking a step back from Erik. It's stupid, really. Erik had called her late one night after she'd had a horrible day - namely, getting a flat tire two days after getting her license and not knowing how to change the tire, and ending up in tears on the side of the road until he'd ridden his bike down to the mall to change it for her - and he'd sung the song to cheer her up. It had worked at the time, and every time she'd been upset, he would sing it to make her laugh.

It had been their song, only because he knew all the words and he refused to tell her why. He didn't even like this sort of music. And yes, they'd been joking around in the park one day and danced to it. But they didn't have to do that _now_.

Actually, Lucy's positive she'll die of embarrassment if they do. Erik probably won't even want to dance to _that_ with her. Definitely not that...

"We didn't get the satisfaction of watching them dance to whatever bullshit song the school picked," Laxus continues. "So, to the Prom King and Queen of 2008, this one's for you!"

Just before the song starts, Erik grabs her hand and stops her from running out of the building. "Take those shoes off and dance with me," he laughs. Lucy looks down at her feet - her heels really aren't for dancing the way they used to. She'll break her ankle, or snap the thin stiletto heel. And break her ankle in the fall.

"Cobra, we don't-"

His tender smile has her breath stalling in her lungs. "I'd only make a fool outta myself like this for you, beautiful," he says.

As the track starts and Shania Twain's voice comes in with her monologue about love, Lucy kicks her heels off. She smiles when Erik grabs both of her hands and pulls her closer.

"Looks like we made it," Erik sings, smiling down at her. "Look how far we've come, my baby." The fact that he's singing along with the song only makes her laugh. It's such a sappy love song, but his voice still rasps along to the lyrics.

She follows his lead and spins when he directs her to, but they'd never been professional dancers. And he knows she has two left feet sometimes, so he moves in behind her and holds her hands, and his hips are swaying in time with hers in their own version of a slow dance.

"You're still the one I run to," he sings. "The one that I belong to. You're still the one I want for life." And he's still singing right in her ear, even though she can barely hear the rest of their old friends laughing and cheering through the music when he spins her and dips her. He laughs when she flails and latches onto his shoulders. He rights her quickly and she's pulled back into his arms. They're stronger than they used to be, more filled out than the last time she'd felt them.

His hand curves around her cheek and he openly smiles down at her. "You're still the one that I love. The only one I dream of…"

She can't help but think back to how things used to be with Erik. How sweet a boyfriend he was, even though he'd dressed like an updated Judd Nelson Bender. Her father had said at one point, that Erik looked like he was just there to steal the silverware, but she'd seen past it. She'd actually liked his grunge-style.

And it had all started because she'd been too creeped out to dissect a frog in biology. If she hadn't done it, she would've failed. But Erik had partnered up with her - took pity on her is more like it - and he did all the work and put both of their names on the project. They were the only group to get a perfect score on it.

She and Erik had spent all of high school together. She's still loathe to admit that they were one of the Big Four couples - named as such because everyone thought they were going to make it forever. They were inseparable.

* * *

Lucy sat in her second period Biology class and unpacked her notebook and a bright blue gel pen for the lecture that was about to start. It was their first day back from winter break, and she was determined to do better this semester. She'd only just barely passed the exam with a 61%. It was just barely a D, and she was positive that Mr. Tucker had taken pity on her. She really did try to learn, it just didn't click. If only her dad understood that. She'd spent the whole break with her nose in her textbooks.

The bell rang and the last few stragglers rushed into the class before they could be considered late. As if Mr. Tucker would actually get mad at them for being late. He was too busy adjusting the picture on his desk of his daughter Nina to pay attention to that.

Halfway through the class, a piece of notebook paper, folded over again and again into a triangle with her name written in scratchy letters on the outer layer, landed on her desk. She frowned down at it, and glanced at Mr. Tucker. His back was turned while he wrote something on the board. She was tempted to leave it until after class. She really needed to listen to the lecture, but… Lucy quietly opened the note.

 _Lucy, will you go out with me? Check one.  
\- Yes. And I'll wait for you after class.  
\- No. But thanks anyway.  
\- I'd rather kiss the frog you dissected for me, Cobra._

Her eyes nearly fell out of her skull at the messily written note. Cobra? As in the kid who'd dissected a frog for her, and didn't tease her about being too scared to cut it open? The one who sat across the room by the window, and never talked to anyone, who slept through their English class every single day? The one with the really pretty eyes and awesome looking earrings that he changed every month because he was stretching the holes? That Cobra, had just… asked her out in a note?

She hid the note under her desk and leaned forward to find him sitting there, paying attention to the lecture. Cobra slouched in his seat, with one leg kicked out in front of him and his bright indigo eyes focused solely on what Mr. Tucker was writing on the board. He always paid attention in science, even if he never took notes. Levy had told her that he was the only kid to consistently get an A in every science class he took, even though he didn't seem like he'd care all that much about it.

She stared harder, hoping to get him to look her way. He didn't.

Finally, she glanced at Mr. Tucker again to make sure he wouldn't catch her, and checked her answer on the note. She folded it back up the opposite way and wrote _Cobra_ across the outside, then tapped Bacchus next to her. "Pass it on," she whispered.

She followed the note across the class. She couldn't focus on anything else. She was too nervous to see what he'd do. Would he look at her? Oh god, what if he hadn't actually written the note, and it was just a prank?

Jellal took the note from Erza and handed it to Cobra, who unfolded it beneath his desk and read her answer. He frowned at the page and read it again. Slowly, his gaze lifted and he found her staring at him. His brows lifted as in a silent question of _Seriously?_

Lucy bit her lip to hide her smile, and nodded. Her ponytail bounced around her shoulders. The sight of his satisfied smirk had her blushing, but she felt just a little better when she saw the faintest pink tint to his cheeks while he shoved the note in his pocket.

Mr. Tucker turned around and walked over to Cobra, then held out his hand. "The note, Vivas," he said in his voice that could never really be as stern as it needed to be. Lucy's stomach plummeted when Cobra gave the note to him. "And what was so important that you were passing notes in my class?"

She hoped with everything she was worth that he wouldn't actually read it out loud. She was going to die of embarrassment if he did that.

"I wrote Lucy a note to ask her to go out with me," Cobra said, loud enough for everyone to hear him clearly. Was he not embarrassed by this? He smirked over at her, even as their classmates laughed. "She said yes."

"And this couldn't wait until after class?"

Cobra's lips pulled up into a grin that had her cheeks burning even brighter than before. "No way," he said.

* * *

Lucy sighed and leaned her head against the bathroom stall while staring down at her Nokia. The sides flashed once to let her know that she had a new text, and she clicked on it quickly.

 _Cobra: im here wats up?_

She opened the stall and rushed over to the bathroom door, then pulled it open just a crack. And there he was, leaning against the wall, staring down at his phone with his Misfits messenger bag slung over his shoulder and her favorite zip-up hoodie with a giant Slipknot "S" symbol on the back. He looked up at her and smiled. "What's up?" he asked. "I told Mr. Clive I had an emergency call I needed to make."

"I started my period," she said, wincing slightly. God this was embarrassing. Telling her boyfriend that she'd started her period was bad enough, but… "And my jeans are ruined, and the machine in here doesn't have any tampons, and my period started a day early, so I don't have anything in my purse. I can't…" She was going to cry. By the suddenly alarmed look in his eyes, he knew she was about to cry. "I can't leave, because there's blood all over the back of my pants, and…"

She could probably get away with making a half-assed pad out of twenty million layers of one-ply toilet paper, then going down to the office to ask them to call her mom, so she could get a change of clothes. The nurse probably had tampons, too. Or she could get a tampon from the nurse, and then go to the locker rooms and just change into her gym shorts. But both of those options required her walking around the school with a huge blood stain on her ass. Anyone could see her like that.

Cobra came closer and pressed his lips to her cheek. "It'll be fine," he whispered. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

Lucy couldn't really go anywhere, so she just nodded and watched as he walked across the hall to the Home Economics class. He knocked on the door and waited for Mrs. Curtis to answer it. Lucy couldn't really hear what he said, but she squeaked when the woman's narrowed eyes shifted toward her so quickly that her dark dreadlocks tied up into a ponytail nearly smacked Cobra in the face. Mrs. Curtis nodded to Cobra and he walked inside. It felt like ages before he came back out.

Cobra walked back over to her and grinned as he held up two tampons. "Handle your business, then come out, okay?"

She sniffled, still trying to hold back her tears, and took the tampons into the bathroom. She put one in her bag and used the other, then glared down at her ruined underwear and pants. Lucy dabbed at the stain on her panties with some toilet paper. Maybe if she could soak up most of it, it wouldn't be as uncomfortable. Her jeans were a different story.

Her phone lit up with another text message, and she sighed while giving up and pulling up her pants.

 _Cobra: u good? still here 4 u_

Lucy smiled down at her phone and put tossed it into her purse. There was no point in texting him back and wasting his minutes when he was right outside the bathroom. She washed her hands and went back to the door, then peeked her head out. "Thank you," she said.

He was still leaning against the wall just next to the door, and with his back to the hallway, she was the only one who could see the way he smiled at her. "No problem, beautiful," he said. "Want me to walk you anywhere?"

"A butcher would be good," she laughed quietly. "I'll fit right in."

"Nerd," he chuckled.

"I can't walk out there like this. My pants… I'll just call my Mom and hide in here until I die," she finally said. It was more than surprising that he dropped his messenger bag to the floor and shrugged off his hoodie. Cobra loved this hoodie. He'd told her that it was the most comfortable hoodie in existence, and she was only allowed to wear it on occasion because she was his girlfriend. She had privileges, obviously. But they'd agreed that she was only allowed to have custody of it for a week before he needed it back. That way he could get the smell of her off of it, and him back onto it. Then she could enjoy it again.

"Here," he said, handing it to her. "It's big enough, it'll cover you up."

"But what if I get blood on it?" she asked, staring down at the spiralling S design on the back.

"It's black," he chuckled. "It'll be fine. Go on, take it."

Slowly, she pulled the door open the rest of the way. She didn't let him see the state of her pants, and instead quickly pulled the hoodie on. He was right, though. It really was long enough to reach down to her thighs. No one would be able to see her pants. And no one would question why she was wearing it in the first place, since he always had this hoodie with him. Cobra was pretty well-known for wearing it.

She'd gotten quite a few astonished looks the first time he let her borrow it at school.

He smiled down at her and pulled at one sleeve so her fingers were finally sticking out of it. Cobra held her hand and picked up his bag. "Where to?"

"Locker room," she said. "I'll change into gym shorts and grab my pants before I get on the bus." As they walked down the silent halls, past the classrooms full of students, she frowned up at him. "Won't Mr. Clive wonder where you went?"

Cobra shrugged. "It was an emergency," he said, smirking down at her. "My girlfriend was dying in a bathroom." They stopped in front of the girls' locker rooms by the gym and he kissed her cheek one more time. "Just hang out here until the bell rings, okay? Don't need you getting caught for skipping."

Lucy nodded and made her way inside, unaware of the assistant principal walking down the hall and giving Cobra a detention for skipping class.

* * *

Cobra's carefully sat down on her hips while she laid in his bed. She smiled up at him while he turned a little plastic bag over in his hands, his gaze focused solely on the contents. "You sure you wanna do this?" he asked, finally looking down at her. "You don't have to."

"Well, you said you like how they look," she replied. "And it'll heal up if I don't like it."

She hadn't expected him to frown at her. "It doesn't matter if I like it," he said. Lucy just laughed and rolled her eyes at him. It did matter if he liked it, but she understood what he meant. He didn't want her to do it just because he liked it. "Seriously, you look beautiful already."

"Well, I never knew how it worked," she said. Lucy wiggled beneath him and grinned. "But you do. Teach me, wise sensei!"

Cobra finally laughed. Yes, she'd pulled out one of the few words she'd picked up from those anime shows he watched. She was actually starting to really like that Inuyasha show he'd introduced her to on Adult Swim. "Fine, you've convinced me."

He tossed the little baggie on her stomach and leaned over to the dresser beside his bed to grab his drink. She couldn't understand why he liked his tea so sweet. It was way too sweet for her unless he watered it down with ice. He took a sip and set it down again, and she watched as he spit an ice cube out into his hand. She giggled when he put it against her ear lobe and water dripped down onto her neck.

"We'll start small," he said, rubbing it over the hole where her earring usually was. He pushed the melting ice into her mouth and opened the bag on her stomach to pull out a black taper talon earring that would gauge her ears up to a 10. He pointed to the wide end. "Don't think you're gonna get this far today. It'll take a couple weeks, if we take our time. You can do it in a few days if you hate yourself."

Lucy didn't hate herself, and she knew this was going to hurt. It was just a matter of whether or not she could actually deal with the pain of ripping her earlobes bit by bit until she could wear those super cute plugs she saw at the mall. They didn't look right with the smaller sizes. But the rainbow swirling pattern on a pair of plastic screw-back plugs… size 10 was the smallest size they had that looked halfway decent. "Maybe we'll take it slow."

"A solid plan," he chuckled. His brows drew together just before he picked up the vaseline. "Did you ask your parents?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "They're my ears…"

Cobra's lips pursed and he set the taper back down, then picked the house phone up from the bed. He used the phonebook in his cellphone and dialed what she already knew was her house. Was he seriously calling right then to ask if she could gauge her ears? She was positive that her mom didn't care. Her dad probably wouldn't like it all that much, but he didn't like a lot of things that could be associated with Cobra.

"Hey, it's Cobra," he said, tossing his cell on the bed while propping the house phone on his shoulder. "I'm good. Yeah, Lucy's over at my house."

When he rolled his eyes and feigned boredom, she laughed. Apparently, her mother was in a talkative mood. Then again, she'd always liked Cobra.

"Well, I was calling because she wants me to gauge her ears, and I won't do it unless it's okay with you."

Lucy really wished that he'd called on his cellphone so she could hear what her mother was saying.

"Gauging?" he asked. "Oh, it's where you stretch the hole and… Yeah, I'm not piercing her ears again for it…" He smirked down at Lucy. "I know, she told me you said she couldn't get a second piercing on her ears."

Which Lucy thought was entirely _not fair_ because she was sixteen years old, and she was just a baby when her parents had gotten her ears pierced in the first place. She didn't even remember it.

"Well, she's gonna have these talon-looking earrings in, and she has to push them a little bit every day. It'll make the hole bigger," he said. He smiled when she crunched through the ice in her mouth. "Yeah, mine are gauged… Um…"

Erik frowned down at her.

"Lucy, how big do you want to make them?" When she shrugged, he set his attention back on the phone. "She doesn't know… Yeah, she's eating ice right now…" He chuckled. "Yeah, she's kinda weird."

Lucy stuck her cold tongue out at him. What a butt.

"Mine are a size zero," he said. "Well, normal earrings are 18, and the number goes down by two for every size you go up. Then there's zero, and double-zero, and then it's whatever the diameter of the earring is."

She thought it was actually kind of adorable that he was taking the time to explain this to her mom. But Lucy already knew that Cobra loved her mom.

"Yeah, it does hurt," he said. "Uh… I dunno. She asked me to do it and I said okay… Yeah, if she doesn't like it, then it'll heal right back up and she can wear normal earrings again." He laughed much louder than before and Lucy's head tilted with curiosity. "No, I'm not planning on making mine big enough to put dinner plates in them!"

"Me neither!" Lucy shouted so her mom could hear her.

"Okay, cool. Thanks, Miss-" He stops and Lucy's able to see the way he smiles, how he curls up just a little bit over whatever her mom said to him. His fingers fiddled with the hem on her shirt, flipping it back and forth where it sat at her belly button. "I know. Thanks, Mom."

Oh, that's why he looked like that. He always got a little weird when Lucy's mother said he should just call her Mom. And Lucy understood it, as much as she possibly could without being in a foster home like he was. Cobra's real mom, as she'd found out, was addicted to drugs and in prison. He didn't have any siblings, his father wasn't in the picture, and his grandparents were dead. He didn't have a family aside from his mother, and she wasn't going to get out of prison for a long, long time.

So, she knew that when her mom treated him like he was one of the family, it made him feel… happy, she supposed. She hoped that was how he felt. And Lucy knew that her mom did it partly because all of Lucy's friends called her Mom, and partly because she knew that Cobra didn't really have a family of his own.

He said goodbye and hung up, then tossed the phone onto the bed beside her. "You have permission to gauge your ears," he said. "Your mom is very happy to know that we thought to check with her first, and she says that she'll talk to your dad about it later on. Also, to wear your hair down for a couple weeks around him."

Lucy rolled her eyes again and laughed. Her dad was such a stick in the mud sometimes. "Well good. Now, please hurt me real good, Mister Cobra."

He snorted while putting the vaseline on the taper. "I'll show you how to clean them afterwards," he said as he brought it to her ear. "I've gotta clean mine before I put those new tapers in."

"You're going to double-zero?" she asked, and he nodded. "Sexy."

"Shut up," he chuckled.

* * *

Lucy was about to leave for school when she got a text from Cobra. She flipped open her Razr while putting on her seatbelt and turning on the car.

 _Cobra: Missed the bus stayin home 2day. Luv u._

Her lips pursed while she considered typing out a response. She could go and pick him up easily, but they'd both be late. But it would mean that he wouldn't miss school. Then again… She kind of didn't really feel like going to school at all that day. Senioritis was a thing, and it was real. He'd been staying on her ass about actually going to school for the past two weeks, because she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

Luckily, the prospect of seeing her boyfriend of three years first thing in the morning was all the motivation she needed to get her butt in the car and drive the school.

But if he wasn't going to be there…

Lucy turned the key to start the car, then shrieked when it made a terrifying grinding sound. "It's already on, stupid!" she shouted at herself. Her poor steering wheel got the brunt of her glare, though.

She texted him back before putting the car into gear and triple-checking both ways so she could pull out of the driveway. Just a quick little _K luv u 2 cobs._

He hated it when she called him _Cobs_. But she had seniority here. As his girlfriend of three years, she could do what she fucking wanted with his name.

Lucy drove away from her house, and instead of turning left at the light to go to school, she turned right. She'd long ago memorized where he lived. And then he'd been moved to another foster family two months ago that was a whole mile closer to her house. If he didn't ride home with her every day to avoid being stuck on the bus - sometimes so they could study, other times to hang out with their friends after getting their homework done - then she wouldn't have known the route to his new house by heart.

Cobra hadn't been happy about the move. He'd actually liked the foster family he'd been living with before, and he'd told her that he hoped they would adopt him. But then the wife got pregnant, and they needed his room to use as a nursery. So, he'd had to pack his things up and move on.

She parked in the driveway next to his new foster father's beat up Chevy Blazer. Ever since he'd moved to this house, Cobra didn't ask her to come inside anymore. He met her at the driveway. She wasn't sure if he was just trying to be respectful of the family's boundaries. Still, she turned off the car and got out, then made her way to the front door. She knocked and waited for someone to answer.

The door opened and Cobra was there, wearing no shirt and a pair of garish plaid boxers that she'd bought for him as a gag gift. Lucy's cheeks flamed at the sight of him like this. Sure, she'd seen him in a bathing suit when they went to Gray's pool parties during the summer, but not in his boxers.

Cobra took a second to realize that it was Lucy standing at the door. And then he squeaked and hid behind it. "What are you doing here?" he hissed. "You're late for school!"

She shook her head quickly and grinned at him. "Wanna play hooky with me today?"

"You need to go to school," he said with a frown.

"But baby," she said with a pout. "I'll buy you a steak, egg, and cheese bagel from McDonalds." She knew that she had him, hook line and sinker. It was just a matter of how much Cobra would try to fight his deep love for those stupidly filling things before he gave in. He always gave in. Sometimes, he would walk to her house and wake her up early before school just so they could drive down to McDonalds and he could treat her to breakfast.

He lasted all of 30 seconds. Cobra smirked and rolled his eyes at her. "And people say I'm the bad influence. Gimme a minute to get dressed. I'll meet you in the car."

"Grab your bag, okay?" He nodded and closed the door, and Lucy returned to her car to wait for him. She sat there for ten minutes before the passenger door opened and he got in. Once he was buckled with his bag having been tossed in the backseat, she pulled out of the driveway and their truant journey began.

They ate breakfast in the parking lot at McDonalds, splitting a large orange juice between them, and then Lucy drove out to the mall. It had been a while since they'd just walked around together, and she wanted to see what new things they'd gotten at Spencers since the last time she'd been. Last Friday.

He had no problems holding her hand as they walked. It was all the PDA he was alright with aside from the occasional kiss on the cheek. They stopped at the body jewelry kiosk, where he bought her a pair of size four stone plugs in a light pink that were carved into roses. They wandered to the candy store, and Lucy bought a pound of gummy worms that they shared while they kept wandering around.

She laughed when they walked through the food court and he fed her every free sample they could get.

By the time they made it to Spencers, it was already ten in the morning. She wasn't sure what else they could really do after they were done at the mall. She'd never played hooky before, and Cobra had told her he hadn't either. Yet another first they got to share.

After looking through every aisle in the store, staring at the psychedelic posters and the chain wallets - and, of course, joking around in the Adult section with the fuzzy handcuffs and strawberry flavored lube - Lucy snuck over to the belts and picked one off the rack, then rushed to the cashier and bought it as quickly and silently as possible.

She went back to grab Cobra, and they finally left. It was only after they found a bench to sit at to rest their feet for a minute that she handed him the bag.

"What's this?" he asked.

"A present," she giggled, bumping her shoulder into his. "Open it, silly."

He reached into the bag and pulled out a belt with three rows of pyramid studs that had been painted a bright red. She knew how much he loved these belts, but he just never got one for himself. And she knew that he loved the spiked belts even more, but they weren't allowed to wear those at school, so she'd had to go with this one. "Babe…"

"You like it?" she asked. It was always iffy with him, on whether he liked red or purple better. They'd had a purple one, too, but it looked a little too feminine. So she went for the red.

"I fucking love it," he laughed. He stood and removed the belt that was holding his baggy, weathered jeans up, tossing it onto the bench beside her, then put his new belt on and removed the tag. "And now I can throw this one out."

Her eyes widened as she looked down at his old belt. Sure the leather wasn't as crisp as a brand new belt, but it was worn in. And he'd had it since he started high school. The leather wasn't peeling or cracked. And it had the cutest little metal skulls going around it. "Don't throw it out!"

"But this one's better," he chuckled, pulling her up to stand in front of him. "It's a present from you." He leaned down and kissed her. Her eyes slid open after he pulled away, and she found him smiling down at her. "Thanks, beautiful."

"You're welcome. Thank you for the new plugs."

"They suit you. Pretty in pink, right?"

Lucy laughed and picked up his old belt, holding it up so he could see the buckle he'd yet to take off. He surprised her by taking it from her and wrapping it around her hips, then fastening the buckle. He pulled it a little to the left, making sure the buckle that said _Parental Advisory, Keep Out_ sat right over the button on her jeans.

"Between this and my hoodie, you're gonna look like a total badass," he said.

Lucy blushed when he took her hand in his again, and they continued walking through the mall.

* * *

The sun had barely broken past the horizon and started streaming through her drapes. Lucy pulled back from kissing Cobra, brushing his sweaty hair back as she looked into his half-lidded eyes. She laid her head on his bare chest, snuggling up to him and enjoying the way it felt to have his skin brushing against her. She pulled the sheet higher to make sure her breasts were covered while he drew random circles on her shoulder.

"Feeling okay?" he whispered. She smiled up at him and hummed. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Lucy shook her head. No, he definitely hadn't hurt her. He'd been gentle with her, careful. Things had been a little awkward at first while she tried to figure out what to do with her hands, and was she kissing him too much or should she be doing it more, and hoping they didn't make the bed squeak. "I feel great," she sighed.

He let out a quiet chuckle and shifted to bring his lips to hers in a kiss that was packed full of the emotions she had simmering in her chest. Their fingers laced beneath the blanket as she was rolled onto her back. When they broke apart for air, he smiled at her in a way that had her heart pounding.

"I love you," he whispered into the stillness of the room.

"I love you, too."

The door to her bedroom opened, and Layla walked in with a bright smile on her face. "Lucy, downstairs for breakf-"

They sat up quickly, and Lucy clutched the sheet to her chest as she stared in horror at her mother. This couldn't be happening.

"Oh! Cobra's…" Layla's eyes widened as she took in their state of undress. Cobra's bare chest, how Lucy held the sheet to cover her breasts. Cobra's leg sticking out from under the blanket and giving her an uninhibited view of every inch of his tan thigh. "Oh… O-Oh! Oh my…"

Lucy was ready to jump out of her window when she saw how red her mother's face had gotten.

Layla let out a nervous laugh and stared up at the ceiling. "Okay then! W-Well, uh… Breakfast is ready," she said quickly. She glanced at them, then down at the floor. "Bacon and legs."

Cobra choked.

"Eggs!" Layla shouted, already backing out of the room. "Bacon and _eggs_! I'll just… Go make more!" She slammed the door shut and Lucy listened as her feet pounded down the hall. She was quite literally running away from the sight of her naked daughter with her equally naked boyfriend. Her naked teenage daughter who'd just lost her virginity when she woke up in bed next to her boyfriend who she'd invited over in secret the night before because she'd wanted to snuggle… and they'd just kind of ended up having sex as the sun was coming up.

"Kill me," Lucy whimpered, collapsing back onto the bed.

Cobra gulped and looked back at her. "Your dad's not home, right?"

"No, he left yesterday," she said. "That's why I invited you over last night, remember?"

Cobra nodded slowly, his eyes wide and horrified. He was probably thinking about the implications of what had just happened. And how much worse it would've been if her father had been home, and if _he'd_ been the one to catch them like this. At least, with her mom, they had a few minutes before they had to face the music. "We should, uh… get dressed?"

Lucy sighed and got out of the bed, ignoring Cobra's nakedness while she pulled her pajamas back on that had gotten tossed one way and another less than an hour before. She turned and found him also wearing the pajama pants he'd slept in, along with the shirt she assumed he was probably wearing when he climbed the tree outside her window and crept into her room after midnight.

They kissed one last time before leaving her room and going downstairs to the kitchen. Layla was there with her back to them, grabbing the cranapple juice from the fridge and filling up three glasses to set on the breakfast bar. "Uh, Mom?"

Layla spun around and grinned at the two of them, but it was a little too wide to be any sort of relief for Lucy. "Happy breakfast!" she said, just a little too loudly, in a way that screamed _I saw nothing, and we will not speak of this until it's just me and you, young lady!_

The three of them ate breakfast together, and Lucy took a quick shower to get herself ready for school while Cobra changed into real clothes in her bedroom. Once she was ready, she found him waiting for her at the front door. She said goodbye to her mom and walked out to the car with him in silence.

It wasn't until they were already on the road that he said anything. "Your mom scares the shit outta me, man."

"What?" Lucy laughed. Cobra loved her mom, and the last person he should be afraid of was her.

"She says if you get pregnant, your dad won't have a chance to kill me," he muttered. "She'll be coming for my cock and balls first. Her words, not mine."

They reached a red light and the car stopped a little more abruptly than was necessary. She paled and turned to stare at him with wide, horrified eyes. Had her mother really said something like that? Granted, Lucy knew that Cobra wouldn't lie to her, but still.

"On the other hand," he continued, "She said that I also have her blessing to marry you, so…"

"Oh my god!" Lucy groaned, slamming her head on the steering wheel while Cobra laughed next to her.

"Green light, babe."

* * *

Lucy looks up into Erik's eye, her cheeks burning as his deep voice skitters along her flesh.

"I'm so glad we made it," he croons along with the song, and his steps slow as he brings her closer to his chest. His hands glide from her shoulders to the small of her back, and Lucy's body pulls her forward. It's not a conscious thought to lightly trail her hands across his chest, up into his long hair. "Look how far we've come, my baby…"

When he smirks as her thumb brushes across the scar on his cheek, she's a goner. The spark that they'd always had reignites into an inferno in her chest. She can't breathe, but she's not sure if she ever wants to again. Not with him looking at her like this again. Not when she notices a lock of maroon hair has fallen loose and curves around his cheek, well past his chin.

It's something she's always known, but she's tried to keep it buried under lock and key for ten years. Ever since he left. There's no denying it now. She loves him. She'd never stopped loving him. The relationships she'd had in the past were nothing compared to what they had together. Her marriage to Loke, even the fact that she started dating him in their senior year of college, was all done in the hope that she could find a way to move on.

She never had, and Lucy knows now, while she's wrapped in Erik's arms, she was always meant to love him.

"My mom always said you were the one," she whispers.

Erik chuckles. They've both forgotten that they're not alone, that their friends are standing around them, smiling, watching this moment. "I knew I liked Layla for a reason."

"Is it alright if I wanna be stupid and reckless?" She's tempted to just go for it, considering he just danced with her, sang their song to her… His voice made sweet, passionate love to her ears. Still, Lucy's scared. Just a little. Okay, she's downright terrified of making a fool of herself, throwing herself out there right here, in this moment, and having him turn her away.

"Stupid and reckless is my middle name."

"Your middle name is Monroe," she giggles. He huffs out a short laugh, and she knows. Right here and now, she knows that there's nothing to be afraid of. Not with him. Never with Erik. So Lucy gathers every ounce of her courage and grabs his face, then stands up on the tips of her toes and kisses him with everything she has.

Every lonely, tear-filled night after his disappearance. The love and happiness they'd shared all throughout high school. It all hits her at once when he reciprocates with a soft groan. When she feels the way he clutches at her just as desperately, as though this is the one balm that can soothe the devastation in his soul that's been ten years in the making, Lucy knows that she's not alone. He loves her just as much, and if she has any say in the matter, she'll never let him go again.

* * *

 **There is, at the very least, one more chapter for this story. By the time I got to this point, I realized that I'd only gotten through 3,000 of the 8,000 words from my** _ **outline**_ **for this… Like… What even...**

 **So, I decided to break it up.**

 **Yay!**


	2. 2019, Day 1: Thread

**A/N: So, the original plan for this had been that I would wait a couple weeks after last year's CoLu Week to post the next chapter… We see how that turned out. Sorry for making y'all wait so long for the next part of this. I hope you enjoy what's to come, and I sincerely hope it was worth the wait.**

 **I've decided to do something different this CoLu Week. Instead of creating a new story here on FFN and posting one-shots inside of it, I'm updating CoLu stories with another chapter! Some of them will get multiple chapters updated. Also, at this point, I only have Days 1 and 2 finished. Things are still hectic in the real world right now, so the rest of my CoLu entries will probably be a little on the late side. I have no intention of skipping this pairing week. I've never skipped it before, and I don't plan to start now.**

 **At the end of each new CoLu Week entry, I'll put a note on which story the next prompt will appear under whenever it gets posted, so you guys will know where to keep an eye out.**

 **So, without further ado, Welcome to CoLu Week 2019!**

* * *

 **Day 1** _ **  
Thread**_

* * *

Layla hums quietly to the music that streams through their home's automated system. She loves that Lucy convinced her to invest in that silly little Alexa thing. It gives her the ability to listen to music from anywhere in the house - such a lovely way to keep her mood up while she's cleaning, without blaring music from the sound system in the living room, like she used to. The smell of bacon in the oven is coiling up into her sinuses, and she turns on the oven light to see if they're crisped enough yet.

Still not ready. Well, fiddlesticks. That's fine though, because Jude is only just coming downstairs, and Lucy's still asleep.

She turns when she hears Jude's familiar footsteps, a gentle smile curling her lips as she watches him fiddling with his tie. He's ready for work, for the most part, but she's happy that he always makes time to eat breakfast with her before he leaves. He never used to, but now that he's getting older and his doctor has gotten on his case, he's taking better care of himself.

"Lucy's still not up?" he asks when he sees the table is empty.

"Not yet," she says. "I'll head up in a minute to get her."

Jude inhales as she walks closer, his eyes closing as the bacon hits his nose. "Real bacon?"

"Yes," Layla laughs. She smooths down imaginary wrinkles in his shirt and takes his suit jacket from his arm to drape over the nearby stool at the breakfast bar. "I don't like that turkey bacon much either. And I've packed a salad for your lunch today to counteract this unhealthy breakfast."

"You spoil me," he chuckles. Jude leans closer and presses a tender kiss to her cheek, and when Layla turns, she smiles into the next kiss he presses to her lips. She's always loved the way his moustache tickles her nose.

"Did you hear her come in last night?" she asks as they pull away. Jude walks to the dining table and picks up his tablet on the way, removing it from the charger on the kitchen counter and opening his news application to read the morning paper.

Jude shakes his head, frowning at the screen in his hand.

"Glasses, dear," Layla giggles. "They're right next to your hand."

Jude blinks, tilts the tablet to the side, and finds his reading glasses right in front of his glass of cranberry juice. A small, grateful lift to his lips is her only indication that he appreciates the gesture while he puts then on and begins reading again.

Layla returns to her breakfast preparation, checks the bacon in the oven one more time, as well as the casserole she's making. Dinner will be made in the crockpot, but she doesn't need to start mixing ingredients for another hour or so. With a final nod, she unties her apron and rounds the center island in the kitchen to head up the stairs. "Well, time to go wake up our little princess," she sings.

Jude laughs as she ascends the stairs. While they're both happy that Lucy had been able to come back home after her marriage fell apart, there is no shortage of jokes concerning her presence. It's all in good fun, though. The last thing Layla or Jude want is for her to struggle while trying to get her life back together now that Loke is out of the picture.

Her steps slow as she nears Lucy's bedroom door with the bright pink wooden L monogram still hanging up at eye level. So little had changed in the past few years. Layla hadn't had the heart to do anything to Lucy's room after she'd moved out, but it was clearly a wise decision.

Still, they were going to need to figure something out for Lucy to do with herself. She'd graduated college and had started her own life out in California, but she'd left it all behind. At the very least, she needed to get herself a job so she could start saving money. Layla already knows they won't charge her rent, as long as she's clearly making the effort to get things together.

Layla considers knocking for a moment, but then thinks better of it. Lucy won't hear it if she's still asleep - and considering the bacon-smell is fully permeating the upstairs, it would be a surprise if that was the case - but if she's awake…

Well, it's not like she'll be completely naked. And even if she is, it's nothing Layla hasn't already seen before.

She opens the door just enough to peek her head around the edge, a smile on her lips as she looks toward her daughter's bed. "Lucy, breakfast is-"

Her words die on the tip of her tongue when she sees the rich caramel skin of a man kneeling between her daughter's spread legs. The blanket is pushed down enough for her to see the curve of his ass from the side, and how Lucy's leg hitches higher on his hip, pulling him closer. Layla's widened honey eyes slide toward the head of the bed, passing quickly over her daughter's breast that's barely visible where his chest is pressed to hers, and they widen even further when she sees how long his maroon hair has gotten, how it hangs over one shoulder.

Is that really Cobra? In her daughter's bed? Does this mean they met up with each other at the reunion the night before, or had they already been talking? No, that couldn't be the case. Lucy would have told her if she'd found out what happened to him all those years ago. But if they'd just reunited the night before, then was her daughter really naked in the bed with him so soon?

Cobra breaks away from the tender kiss he and Lucy had been sharing, and they both turn to stare at the doorway in horror.

"Oh god," Cobra breathes. He's aged just a little in the time he's been gone, but it's the scar bisecting his right eye that catches Layla's attention. "It's just like when I lost my virginity…"

That nearly has Layla laughing, but she reins it in and simply shakes her head. "I'll set out another plate then. And Lucy," she says. She meets her daughter's horrified expression with a gentle smile. "I hope you didn't use a condom. If I'm ever getting grandbabies, they'd better be his."

She closes the door just in time as Lucy's pillow goes sailing through the air, and all she can hear is her daughter screeching, "Mom, shut up!"

As Layla turns and walks back down the hall, her smile widens. Tears spring to her eyes unchecked. She doesn't know what's in store for Lucy and Cobra, but she does know love when she sees it. And if the way he was just kissing Lucy was any indication, then he definitely still loves her. By the time she reaches the bottom of the stairs, she's in a daze. Luckily, the timer goes off for the oven, so Layla busies herself with checking the food and grabbing an extra place setting for the table without Jude realizing anything is amiss.

* * *

Erik collapses on top of Lucy and laughs, even though she turns a vicious glare up to him. "I don't see what's so funny," she mutters.

"Layla seriously has the worst luck," he chuckles. "She got an eyeful of my ass just now."

Lucy simply smirks and grabs the ass in question. She hadn't realized that the blanket had been pushed down that far, but she really doesn't care. "But you've got a juicy booty," she purrs. She squeezes, feeling the muscles beneath flex as his hips roll into hers. Her quiet gasp as he fills her sex in one fluid motion is met with a soft groan from him. She doesn't want this to end, but her stomach is protesting the lack of bacon.

Now that her door has been opened (and closed again, thank fucking god), she can smell it.

"Think we can beat the record?" Lucy asks. "I want breakfast."

Erik snorts. "Two minutes is _not_ a record I'm proud of, beautiful." He reaches down and makes sure the condom is still on - damn Layla for mentioning having kids, but he also wants to be sure it hasn't slipped off - then kisses her again. "But we can try."

"Same as last time?" Lucy grins when he does, giving her a quick nod. They scramble off the bed, throw the comforter on the floor, and Lucy straddles him. It was the only way they were able to have sex before with her on top, because her bed wouldn't squeak if they were on the floor.

He gasps as Lucy grabs his cock and positions him easily. She slides down and starts riding him, rolling her hips and gripping his thighs to push her chest further into the air. It's nearly too much for him to bear, but the sight of her letting loose like this is so alluring that all he can do is grasp at her hips and help her move faster over him.

He's still not entirely sure how Layla walking in on them didn't completely kill his boner. Then again, he's with Lucy, and this is something he's only been able to experience in his dreams for far too long.

Fuck, he's missed this so much.

When one hand slides up to her breast, their eyes lock.

She feels so much better than his memories of when they'd had sex in high school. She's more comfortable in her own skin now. She moves differently than he remembers. She has more experience and so does he. But he still remembers her body. It's how he knows that if he pinches her nipples just like this, from the outer edges with more pressure as his fingers reach the tips, she'll go wild. And she doesn't disappoint as she gasps and grinds shamelessly on him with _Cobra_ as nothing more than a high-pitched whimper.

* * *

Cobra carried his lunch tray outside to the picnic table he shared with his new friends Midnight and Angel. Well, Angel wasn't really new to him. He'd met her back in sixth grade when he was in another foster home two towns over, and she'd been living with her aunt. Cobra had been moved halfway through the year and lost touch with her. He'd just assumed that he wouldn't ever see her again. But now they were freshmen in high school - he was in a new foster home again, and she was living with her grandmother - and she'd latched onto him and brought Midnight right along with her.

He still wasn't sure how he felt about the kid with two-toned white and black hair wearing makeup, but at least he knew what he was doing. Midnight gave quite a few of the goth girls a run for his money with that heavy black eyeliner.

He was definitely glad that the weather was good enough for them to eat outside. The kids who ate inside acted like a bunch of fucking animals, and he really didn't want to sit anywhere near the guys who decided not to shower after Phys Ed.

"I don't know how you eat that garbage," Angel said, glaring at his chicken sandwich with (most likely) stale wheat bread, and tater tots.

Cobra just shrugged. "Free lunch," he said. "At least I'm not eating that nasty fucking pizza like your boyfriend over here."

"Like hell would I date her," Midnight snorted. "I'm not sexually aroused by being emasculated on an hourly basis."

"Oh, screw both of you," Angel huffed. She unpacked her Spongebob lunch box and set her salad, grapes, and Fiji water on the table.

" _That's_ what you're eating?" Cobra asked. She gave him a pointed look and opened her salad, drizzled it with ranch dressing, and mixed up the greens. "You do realize we, as humans, supposed to eat meat, right?"

"You do realized my grandma's a vegetarian, so she doesn't even _buy_ meat, right?" Angel snarled. God, she was bitchy. Probably because she wasn't getting enough fucking meat.

"Dude, eat half my sandwich," Cobra said. "And give me like, two bites of your salad."

Angel didn't say a thing, instead choosing to fill her fork with greens and cram them all into her mouth. If she wasn't careful, she'd end up breaking her teeth on that damn fork. The last thing the world needed was Angel having sharp teeth to match her vindictive personality.

Cobra was positive that she'd actually fucking bite people if she could draw blood with minimal effort involved.

"You look like you just got bukakke'd into next weekend," Midnight said, staring at the ranch dressing on her lips. He gave her a napkin that was spotted in the grease from his pizza.

Cobra sighed and took a bite of his sandwich, turning his attention back to their surroundings. He wasn't really sure how he felt about spending his time with Angel and Midnight, but it was better than being alone in this new school. He didn't know anyone else here. Or in this town, really. The only problem was that, if he did let himself get attached to their continued presence in his life, then he'd end up getting moved to another foster home. In another town.

He hated it when his whole life got uprooted. He hated that he couldn't just live with his mom. He hated even more that she was in prison, and he wasn't even allowed to have contact with her. Some bullshit about her potentially being a bad influence on him. It wasn't like she could get any drugs in prison… that he knew of. More than likely, she was already clean, and had been for the past five years.

God, the last time he'd seen her, he'd been in fourth grade. And she'd been in the process of trading their tv for a bump of cocaine. He hadn't understood at the time, why the police - who were supposed to be the good guys who put bad guys in jail - were taking his mom to jail. His sixth grade science class had opened his eyes though. Well, more specifically, the D.A.R.E. people that came to do a presentation about drug abuse and how to resist the temptation of peer pressure, had made it click for him. His mom was addicted to cocaine, and he could only assume that she'd done something pretty fucked up for her to have gotten a 10-year sentence.

He hated this stupid sandwich that he had to eat, too, because his foster family wouldn't let him pack a lunch to take to school. Especially not when they could just as easily apply for free lunches for him from the school.

Two girls left the lunchroom and walked past his table, then out to the grassy hill that the weird kids always sat on. The ones who quoted Invader Zim like it was the coolest show in the world, who gave punk kids a reputation of being fucking retarded. He dug their style in clothes, but that was about it. The last thing he was going to do was try and spend time with the anime losers.

Just because he liked watching the occasional anime didn't mean he had to sit with those kids. Because they took it to another level entirely, pretending they all spoke Japanese on a daily basis, trying to draw in that art style all the time, making those stupid little cat whisker emotes with their fingers.

But his eyes never left the two girls who'd walked past. He'd seen the shorter one with blue hair before, in his math class. She was always raising her hand and answering questions. Bevy? Was that her name? It didn't sound quite right, but… Well, he was friends with Sorano and Macbeth. They ran the gamut on weird names.

And then there was her friend. Lucy. He'd know her anywhere. Blonde hair, wide brown eyes, and the sweetest smile he'd ever seen. She sat on the other side of the room in his Biology class. She was definitely out of place with the kids out there in her baby pink t-shirt and tight jeans standing in stark contrast to the dark reds and blacks of their Tripp pants covered in straps. Lucy and her friend sat down a little ways away from the other kids and started eating.

He could just barely hear their conversation if he strained.

"-be a writer, Levy," Lucy said.

"Oh, that'd be awesome," Levy said, biting into her cafeteria-grade chicken sandwich.

"Of course the preppy rich girl wants to be a writer," Angel huffed. Cobra glanced over just in time to see Angel rolling her eyes. "Whatever."

Midnight hummed and took a bite of his school pizza that tasted like cardboard. How he could stomach it, Cobra wasn't entirely sure. "She gets straight A's in English," Midnight said while chewing. "Pretty sure I saw her grabbing a flyer for the school newspaper."

"Lucy, I don't think freshmen get to write for the paper," Levy said, drawing Cobra's attention back to their conversation. The two girls were looking at a piece of highlighter yellow paper that he could only assume was the flyer Midnight had been talking about. "But there's still the morning show."

"No way. I don't wanna be on the school tv."

"Oh, how about the yearbook?" Levy smiled wide and reached into her backpack for her phone. "My friend Gajeel signed up for it when we were still in eighth grade. I'll see if they're still accepting people."

"That's awesome!"

Cobra hid his secret smile behind another bite of his chicken sandwich that had already gone cold.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do about that dissection my Bio teacher was talking about," Lucy said, drawing his attention again. That's right, he'd forgotten that they were going to have to dissect a frog soon. And they were supposed to find a partner for it.

Cobra really preferred just working on his own, simply because then he knew that the grade he got wouldn't be based on anyone else fucking things up. And no one else would get a better grade after he'd done all the work. Still…

"It won't be that bad," Levy said.

"It's so gross," Lucy whined. He glanced at her again, and found her staring down at her food as though she was about to play a funeral dirge for it. "I know the frog's dead and all, but I just feel like I'd be hurting it."

"Just talk to your teacher," Levy said. "Maybe he'll let you write a report or something instead."

Lucy shook her head, and his eyes caught on the way her high ponytail swished across her shoulders. "No way. I'm gonna do it." He wanted to laugh at how determined she sounded. It was just a little frog. "Even if it's a slimy, nasty… precious little froggy… I can't do it!"

He really did chuckle when her head dropped to her hands. Angel scowled at him, clearly wondering what he found so funny, but he just shook his head and shoved the rest of his sandwich in his mouth.

Lucy was really cute when she got flustered. Maybe he could… help her out a little. Science was his best subject anyway.

"Midnight, want my tots?"

"Give me some of your tots," Midnight rasped.

Cobra laughed at the well-performed Napoleon Dynamite reference. "Fucking dork." He handed over the small cardboard tray and stood from his seat.

"Where are you going?" Angel asked with a glower.

"Throwing out my trash," he said over his shoulder. He hefted his messenger back up a little higher and made his way to the trash, tossed what was left of his lunch, then turned toward the hill. She was still there with Levy, still lamenting over the already-dead frog that she would have to cut open, whose organs they'd have to remove and analyze with the little wax-filled blue veins and red arteries.

Cobra shored up all the courage he could muster as he took the first step toward her, instead of heading back to his table with Midnight and Angel. He got to her a whole lot faster than he'd intended, and ended up looming over her and Levy with a scowl on his face.

"H-Hi, Cobra," Levy squeaked.

Lucy's head turned toward her friend, then tilted back to look up at him. Her eyes widened just a little bit in surprise. God, he hoped it was surprise. He didn't want her to be afraid of him. There really wasn't anything to be afraid of where she was concerned.

"You've got second period with Mr. Tucker?" he asked, never looking away from her bright honey eyes. He already knew they had Biology together, but he couldn't let _her_ know that he knew.

Lucy nodded.

"We're supposed to have partners for the dissection, right?" he asked. He couldn't let her know that he was screaming inside over the fact that words were actually coming out of his mouth, that he was _talking_ to her. Fuck, what was he thinking, coming over here like this was no big deal? He was a glutton for punishment. Because even if this half-cocked plan worked, it's not like he'd get close to her. Cobra couldn't take that chance. He couldn't ask her out on a date and get attached. Every time he got attached to someone being in his life, the system fucked him over and forced him to move away.

Lucy cringed at the mention of the assignment. "Yeah."

"I don't like working with people," he said. "They fuck things up."

She seemed confused. Shit. He had to be more specific.

"But you don't wanna do this anyway," he continued.

"God, no," she sighed. "Levy says I could ask to just write-"

"Be my partner for it," he cut in, surprising her and Levy. Then he shrugged. "You won't have to touch the frog, and I won't have to argue with a teacher over letting me work alone."

"Y-You'd do that?" she asked. "But I'd be taking credit for your work…"

He kind of liked how uncomfortable she looked over that. "So you write down whatever I tell you on the worksheet he's gonna give us," he said. "I'll get us both an A."

"Really?"

Cobra nodded. He ignored her bright smile - well, he outwardly ignored it, because his stomach decided that was the perfect moment to tie itself up in knots that had him ready to puke everywhere - and turned to head toward the main courtyard. The bell was about to ring, and he didn't want to be late to his English class.

The one that he also happened to share with Lucy.

Fuck.

Oh well, he was just going to sleep through it anyway. English was boring as hell, and if he even so much as looked at her during the period, he was going to embarrass himself.

* * *

Cobra looked down at the creased paper in his hand and the bright red glittery writing scrawled across it. Her address. They had a project coming up in their English class, some debate on civil disobedience, and they really needed to iron out the details of what they were going to discuss.

As he walked down the sidewalk, he tucked his hands into the pockets of his new Slipknot hoodie. They'd only been back from winter break for two weeks, so the weather still hadn't warmed up. But he didn't mind that he had to walk to her house from school. She lived relatively close. Closer than if he'd tried to walk there from his new foster home.

He'd already had to move over the break, but he'd lucked out this time. They found a family that lived in the same school zone, so the only thing that changed was where he was sleeping. It was too bad his emergency contact information hadn't changed though. That was still set as his social worker. If he'd gotten adopted, then his new parents would have been written on the card at the school...

Cobra looked at the street sign as he paused at an intersection, then turned left. He only had to go another block, from what Mapquest said when he'd looked it up in the media center after the final bell. He adjusted his Misfits messenger bag on his shoulder and kept walking. The size of these houses was starting to make him a little uncomfortable. All of them were two-stories, with huge oaks here and there in random front yards. Maybe they weren't oak trees, though. He wasn't entirely sure, considering there were no leaves on the trees. If it wasn't a palm or pine tree, he had no clue what type of tree it was.

He was just happy that it was too warm for snow to stick on the ground. He loved the jacket his foster mother, Marie, had gotten for him when she found out he didn't have one, but it wasn't thick enough for snow.

Still, he couldn't complain. At least he _had_ a jacket now. And Marie hadn't even balked over his sense of style, or the music he listened to, or even his desire to keep gauging his ears into the single digits. She was actually pretty fucking cool.

His steps slowed when he reached Lucy's house, and then he stopped entirely as he stared up at the raised porch and wrought iron railing surrounding it. He wasn't sure what he'd really expected, but maybe Angel was right. Maybe Lucy really was a rich girl. The well-kept brick facing on the house and two-car garage definitely pointed in that direction. The windows had actual shutters painted in a delicate blue that matched the front door. There were two cars in the driveway, but he didn't have to walk that way. There was a direct garden stone path leading from the sidewalk, through the perfectly trimmed grass, up to the stone stairs leading to the front door.

How the hell had he convinced her to go out with him, again?

It took a minute for him to find the ability to knock on the door - only after trying to smooth his hair down a little bit, and questioning whether the holes in his jeans made him look poorer than he really was. He'd never really worried about something like that before, but just looking at her house… and knowing how _she_ dressed at school… More than likely, she had the perfect nuclear family. If he was a betting man, Cobra would've put $100 on her mom having a perfectly white smile, long blonde hair, and a pair of fitting (but modest) khaki capris and a pastel polo shirt.

He bet her dad was a businessman who practically lived in slacks and dress shirts. He probably had over a hundred ties that he tied into powerful, domineering Windsor knots.

Finally, Cobra knocked on the door. There was nothing he could do about how he looked, or how her perfect parents would feel about his appearance. Or general presence in their home. Maybe he could get Lucy to come outside and sit on the porch, that way he wouldn't sully their pristine house with his poor people germs.

Before he could convince himself to turn tail and run like a little bitch, the door opened. Luckily, Cobra was tall enough that he didn't have to look _up_ (too far) at her father whose glare was actually freaking him the fuck out.

"Uh, I'm Erik," he said, clearing his throat. Manners. He could use manners. "Is Lucy home?"

God, he hoped she was home already. She'd ridden the bus, and he was positive he'd seen it leaving campus before he'd gone to get directions. There was no way he could've walked there faster than the bus dropped her off.

Her father's eyes narrowed, and his moustache turned down along with his thinned lips. "And how do you know my daughter?"

Great. The protective father. And here Cobra was, looking like a fucking hobo. "We're in Biology together," he said. "And English… We're, uh… supposed to work on a debate."

He gripped the door a little more tightly and shifted backward into the house. "Well, I'm sorry to tell you that she's-"

"Oh Jude, be nice!" A bright peal of laughter flitted through the house, and the door was yanked open further. Cobra's eyes widened when he saw an older version of Lucy standing there. God, she was gorgeous! And she'd honestly married a guy like Jude?! Lucy's mom - because heaven help him if this was actually her sister - smiled wide as she met his gaze. "You must be Cobra."

Fuck. Cobra looked back toward Jude just in time to see his disapproval at the nickname tightening his lips further and driving deep wrinkles into the space between his brows. "W-Well, yeah, but it's just a nickname," he said quickly. He turned back to Lucy's mother's smiling face. "My name's Erik."

"Layla-"

She frowned at Jude and pulled his elbow enough to create a space between him and the door jamb. "You are _not_ turning away Lucy's boyfriend, Jude."

"Boyfriend?!" Jude bellowed, forcing Cobra's spine to go rigid. Shit, did he not know that they were dating? Was this just some rebellious bad boy phase to get back at her father? Fuck! He should've known!

Layla laughed again and wrapped her arms around Jude's waist, dragging him further into the house. "She's upstairs in her room, sweetie," she said. Cobra was confused for a moment, until he realized that she was looking at _him_ and talking to _him_. "Second door on the right."

He hesitated.

"Go on," she said patiently, gesturing with her head.

"What do you mean, he's her boyfriend?!"

Cobra ducked his head and rushed inside, dodging Jude's hand that made a vicious grab for him. He kicked off his boots at the pile of shoes he saw sitting just inside the door - right next to a little cubby holder for shoes that seemed to barely get any use for its intended purpose. He rushed up the stairs, then paused at the top. The front door closed, and he took a deep breath while listening to Jude yelling.

But Cobra wasn't going to wait for too long. He walked down the hall and glanced at the first open doorway on the right. A bathroom. Good to know. The second door was closed, but he knew it had to be Lucy's. The giant, gaudy pink L on the door was kind of a dead giveaway. Cobra made his way right to the door and knocked, then waited. But only for a moment. When there was no answer, he took a chance and opened it slowly.

He wasn't sure if she was changing or something, and he knew he wouldn't be able to handle the mental overload if she was, and he saw her any kind of naked.

Just thinking about the possibility had him breathless as the door swung open to reveal her lying on her stomach on a queen-size bed in the center of the far wall, barefoot and wearing a pair of school issue gym shorts and a pale green tank top. Her back was to him, but he took a second to watch as her feet kicked back and forth and her head danced to some rhythm only she could hear. And then he heard the faintest hum of music drifting through the air, accompanied by the soft _scritch_ of a highlighter moving over paper.

Cobra walked into her room and set his bag down by the foot of the bed, peering over her shoulder to see what she was doing. He ignored the rest of her room - not noticing a shelf with a few small gold and silver trophies, or her tall white dresser with an old white Panasonic tv from the '90s perched on top of it. Instead, he was solely focused on his adorable girlfriend who was in the process of color coding index cards with gel pens and highlighters. It nearly made him laugh. God, she was such a weird nerd. She capped her yellow highlighter and picked up a pink one to start decorating the edges of the index card in front of her that read _allele_.

Absolutely adorable. He couldn't help but smile. Lucy was horrible when it came to anything science related, and he knew for a fact that she studied her ass off just to pass the class last semester. His gaze shifted slightly to find a CD player sitting next to her hip with a pale purple headphone cord leading under her stomach. Odd. He would've thought she'd have an mp3 player. Still, he reached forward and hit the pause button, smirking when she jumped and rolled over to see who'd interrupted her.

She gasped as her eyes widened with recognition, and then she smiled that bright, beautiful smile that always made his stomach twist in knots. "Cobra, when did you get here?" she asked, pulling out her earbuds.

"I-" Cobra paused when he heard feet pounding on the stairs, coming closer to her room. As far as he knew, she was an only child and the only other people in the house were her parents. They both looked at the door as it flew open, banging against Lucy's dresser and revealing Lucy's mother with her hair flying wildly around her.

"Lucy, sweetie," Layla laughed, "Your father's lost his mind over a boy being in the house. We're gonna trust you to have this door closed so you two can focus on studying."

"Over my dead body, Layla!" Jude bellowed in the not-so-distance.

Layla laughed louder, grabbing the handle. She turned to look at where Cobra assumed Jude was running toward her. "You can't stop true love, Jude!"

"I can if there's murder involved!" Cobra and Lucy watched in horror as Jude rushed over and hauled Layla over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" she giggled. Cobra's jaw dropped when he heard Lucy's mother squeak. "Did you just spank me?"

What the actual fuck was happening in this house? Was this seriously normal for them?

"Oh my god, ew," Lucy whimpered. Well, that set him at ease, a little. She vaulted off the bed and slammed the door, then locked it.

"That was… interesting," Cobra chuckled. He waited until she turned to face him before taking a seat on the edge of her bed. Damn, it was comfortable. Much more comfortable than what he'd gotten used to sleeping on. And a whole lot bigger too. He'd never really had a chance to even sit on anything bigger than a twin since being taken away from his mom. Every orphanage and foster home had been the same in that respect. And the worst one was where he'd had to sleep on a funky-smelling corduroy couch with some fucked up spring that dug into his back no matter how he moved.

Lucy came to sit down beside him, pulling him back into the moment with her. He couldn't dwell on the negative if she was so close to him.

"So," he said, looking into her eyes, "Where should we start for-"

She leaned forward quickly, pressing her lips to his. Cobra's eyes widened, so he was able to see how she squeezed hers shut while she stole his first kiss. Sure, she was his girlfriend, and he really had no problem with them kissing - especially since they'd been dating for nearly two weeks already - but it took him by surprise.

When Lucy pulled back to look at him, before he had a chance to calm his suddenly raging hormones enough to kiss her back, her cheeks burned brightly. "Maybe we could wait a minute to study," she said. "I've been wanting to kiss you. And if my parents aren't gonna be watching us like hawks-"

Cobra grinned and leaned forward, bringing his lips to hers in a slow, exploring kiss. They weren't being monitored, and her door was locked. Her parents were obviously going to be busy for a little while, so he was definitely going to jump on the opportunity to figure out what the hell he was doing right then. Thankfully, it seemed Lucy was in the same boat, learning how to kiss him without drooling, giggling when they separated and their lips stuck together from being a little too dry. So far, he loved how she hesitated to lift her hands to his hair, and then how it felt to have her fingers lightly dragging along his scalp.

* * *

Erik thrusts harder, knocking her forward with enough force that she topples to his chest with a sharp cry of ecstasy. Lucy smiles down at him with a new, brighter fire burning in her eyes for the briefest of moments, and then her lips are on his. Her tongue spears between his lips, curling around his own just as wildly as her hips as she begins bouncing on his rigid cock. Fuck, she's going to make him cum. And he knows that's the goal so they can go downstairs and have breakfast, but he's not leaving her hanging.

"Cobra," she whispers against his lips as his hands desperately grab her ass to push her down faster. Just hearing her say his old nickname is still driving him crazy. He'd wanted nothing to do with it after losing her years ago, but now? Now she's moaning his name again. She's smiling with those five little letters dripping from her lips, and he can't keep his hands to himself when he hears it.

He loves how she kisses him. How he can taste the desperation in her every move. Her hands sift through his hair and he pants against her lips, his release bounding toward him at breakneck speeds. She seems to be obsessed with his hair now, and he's honestly never been more thankful that he's too lazy to cut it. It makes him wish he'd gone down on her, just so he could've felt her grabbing his hair and forcing his lips closer to her sex. He doesn't even care that they're breathing the same air while looking into her eyes again.

"Damn, baby," he groans quietly. "Do that again…" He fights to muffle his moan when her hips roll and he feels her sex tightening around his cock. But she's looking right into his eye, and his heart is pounding.

She's close. Shit, she's so close and he can hear the way she whimpers, just like he remembers. "Oh…" _That's_ the sound he loves to hear. Just that one little sound. It's so sweet. So innocent. She always seems so surprised when he hits the spot that's going to send her over the edge just as long as he keeps at it. "Fuck me, Cobra."

It's unexpected. She'd never talked like that with him before, but he's ravenous when he hears it. When he hears how her voice quivers with desire. Cobra suddenly pounds into her from below, gripping her hips tightly to hold her still. He loves the way her eyes flutter, how her breasts bounce as his rough thrusts push the air from her lungs in harsh little pants.

"Oh _god_ ," he groans. Shit, her mom is going to hear them if he can't shut the fuck up. Or if he can't keep her a little quieter. When her lips lock onto his ear and her tongue pushes the double-zero plug out with practiced ease, he can't help himself. "Fuck... Lucy…" He can't stop the loud groan that escapes him. He can't keep quiet like he used to with her. She feels too fucking good like this, squeezing him so tightly.

Why is it that she still remembers how to turn him to fucking putty in her hands?

He wants her over and over again, in every position imaginable. He wants to take her in the car like they'd almost done the night before - if it hadn't been a fucking Uber, he probably would've done a whole lot more than tongue fuck her mouth and grope her breasts in the backseat during the ride. But he has her now, just like he had her last night when they crept up to her bedroom, and she's whimpering his name. There's a scream bubbling up in her throat, he can tell. But they can't be too loud. Her parents will hear them. And even though Lucy's a grown fucking woman, and Layla is fully aware of just what they're doing up here in Lucy's bedroom, he doesn't want anyone to hear this.

"Fuck yes," he hisses. Her walls tighten around him even further, and the air is filled with the slick sound of her body accepting the punishing pace he's putting her through.

"Harder," she moans loudly. He doesn't even think before rolling her onto the floor and spearing into her again. He needs more leverage, more room to fuck her the way she wants. And he's more than happy to give her whatever she wants from him. "Oh, Cobra, I'm gonna… O-Oh _god_!"

Pleasure streaks down his spine like lightning when she latches onto him and her nails dig deep trenches into his shoulders. There it is. Pure bliss clouds her eyes as she spasms around his cock. He's so fucking ready, it hurts. He needs this release, to feel her in his arms once more while he finally lets go.

When she looks up at him, he loses himself in her eyes. When he feels her gentle touch on his scarred cheek, his mouth moves before he can stop himself. "I love you," he moans. He sees the way she stares at him in shock for only a moment before stars burst behind his eye and he finally succumbs to the rapturous pleasure that threatens to make his arms buckle.

* * *

With a quiet groan, Cobra pulled himself up onto the tree branch just outside of Lucy's window. It looked like it was still closed, but she'd texted him and assured him that it was unlocked and opened just a crack so he could sneak in. It took a little work to shimmy across the branch and get the window open enough to crawl into her empty bedroom. He took his boots off as quietly as possible, looking around again to find that she really wasn't there just yet.

Damn. That meant she was still downstairs. He flipped his phone open and checked her last text while setting his boots down at the foot of her bed.

 _Lucy: Dun w dinner. Gimme 15 n ill b in my room. Cant wait 2cu_

They'd talked about doing something like this a couple times before, but the timing had never really worked out. Mostly because he had a curfew with the Ackermans, and he really didn't want to mess things up with this foster family. He'd been with them a year already, and it was looking more and more like they might actually want to adopt him. The last thing he wanted was to piss them off and make them send his ass packing.

But that night, he'd been in luck. Marie was at her monthly book club meeting, and Cobra hadn't been as uneasy about asking his foster father if he could head over to Lucy's. Like hell was he going to try to sneak out of a detective's house. Levi's response was a small smirk as he looked up from the police file in his hands as he said, "This late? Just don't let her parents catch you. Your curfew can be 10 tonight."

Cobra had been shocked by what he'd said. It was only 7:30 when he'd asked, but while he'd walked over to Lucy's house, he realized just how Levi had come to the conclusion. Cobra would have asked earlier if he'd been planning on eating dinner over at her house, or he would have called when they were leaving school that afternoon to check in with Marie. If it had been something school related, it would have happened before dinner. Which could only mean that he was planning on going to Lucy's after dinner - when they all knew that she had the same 8:30 curfew that he did. Which meant that her parents wouldn't actually allow anyone to come over.

And still, he'd gotten permission to go and be a little bit of a deviant.

God, he hoped they really would adopt him.

With a soft sigh, Cobra sat down on Lucy's bed and closed his phone. The alarm clock on her nightstand read 8:15. She should have been upstairs by then.

"Why are you being so mean?!" Lucy screeched from downstairs. Cobra's eyes widened and his head snapped toward the barely open door. He'd never heard her yelling at her parents like that.

"I'm not being mean, Lucy," Jude said. "Your grades are slipping, and you spent all of dinner on that phone of yours."

"I was just talking to my friends!"

"You know better than to ignore your family while we're eating," he said. "What's next? Watching television during dinner? Getting on the computer and slurping up noodles, hunched over a keyboard?"

"You've done it!" she shot back.

"Having the news on is a far cry different-"

"Whatever! You're being a jerk!"

"Lucy," Layla said gently. Cobra wasn't sure how her mother could always be so understanding. His girlfriend was on a rampage.

"Young lady, you're grounded for a week."

"What?!"

"You will not disrespect me in this house, and you will follow our rules," Jude said. God, it sounded like he was ready to blow, too. Cobra could just imagine his face starting to get a little red, how his brows would pinch together.

"Whatever," Lucy huffed. "I'm going to my room."

"Give me your phone, Lucy."

"You're kidding me!"

"Your phone. You're grounded, so no phone."

"You're ruining my life! Fine, you want my phone? Take it!" Cobra cringed when he heard her phone slam down on what he assumed was the dining table. "Whatever!"

He could hear her as she stormed across the house and up the stairs. Within moments, she was there, ignoring his presence as she grabbed the doorknob and slammed her bedroom door shut with all the strength she could muster. She whirled in place and made her way to her bed, collapsed sideways across it, and screamed into her comforter.

Honestly, he wasn't entirely sure what to do about this. He was the reason she'd gotten in trouble. She'd been texting him during dinner, setting up this little scheme of theirs for him to sneak over. Maybe they should have hashed all this out earlier. Still, he waited a minute before trying to get her attention. Slowly, he leaned back on the bed and smiled down at her tousled blonde hair.

"How very after-school sitcom of you," he chuckled. When he reached out to brush her hair away from her face, she was glaring at him with tears in her eyes. His smile faded in an instant. "Hey, come on, baby… It's not that bad."

"He's a total asshole," she muttered. "So what if I was texting during dinner? It's not like he was talking to me anyway…" She sighed when his arms wrapped around her. She moved so easily to rest her head on his shoulder, sniffling quietly as he stroked her hair.

"Still, let's not make the same mistake next time," he said. Cobra hooked a finger under her chin, smirking when she followed his lead. "I missed you."

She melted as their lips met in a slow kiss. They'd been together for a year and a half already, so he knew that kissing her was the easiest way to get her to relax. She was always so relaxed when they were like this, like she trusted him completely.

And honestly, he felt the same way. He trusted her with everything. And that was huge for him, monumental. They were nearing the end of their sophomore year, and things had been going so fucking great. He had a beautiful girlfriend, a stable foster family, his grades were steady and mostly decent.

It wasn't even a conscious thought for his hand to drift down to her waist while he teased her lips apart with his tongue. Cobra always held her there when they kissed. But then his hand moved down to the small of her back. His fingers drew random patterns just above the hem of her sweatpants, slowly inching beneath the fabric. He felt his cheeks flaming as he touched the lace of her panties, but he was well and truly breathless when he took a chance and gently cupped one cheek in his hand.

A thong. Oh holy hell, she was wearing a thong. And he was… He was touching her butt. Her _bare_ _ass_ was in his hand and she was _letting him_ squeeze it. She squeaked when he grabbed her a little too hard, and Cobra drew back from her tempting lips to find her smiling up at him. Fuck, she was so cute when she blushed.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Lucy just shook her head and pulled him closer, nearly on top of her as their lips connected again. His hand didn't leave her ass, save to venture just a little to the outside of her thigh. He wasn't going to push his luck too much and try to go for the gold in the front. Just touching her butt was enough.

After several minutes, she drew back from their kiss that was getting a little too intense. "We should slow down," she panted.

"Sorry," he said again, trying to gain his composure. He didn't want to push her too fast. A few of their friends had already taken the plunge and started having sex, but he didn't want to rush anything. And he knew that Lucy didn't want to do that either. "Your skin's just so soft…"

"I just don't want to rush."

It took a moment for his brain to process what she'd said, but the soft knock on her bedroom door definitely helped to snap his ass back to reality.

Fuck.

He ripped his hand out from her sweatpants, and scrambled across her bed. He rolled off of it, and onto his hands and feet on the floor, just as the door opened, hiding in the small space between her bed and the open window that could be his salvation.

"Lucy," Layla said gently, "Are you alright?"

Oh god… Did Layla know what they were doing? Did Lucy not look upset anymore? Could her mom tell that she'd just been making out with him and getting felt up? Shit! Cobra was so dead!

"I'm fine, Mom," Lucy sighed. He could hear her sitting up - maybe she was trying to block any view Layla might have of his hiding spot. "I'm sorry for texting during dinner. I won't do it again."

"Well, that's good to hear." He could hear Layla's smile as she walked closer and sat on the bed. Right where he'd been laying with Lucy. Oh god, what if she could feel how warm the comforter was, and she _knew_ he'd been there only moments before? "You do realize why we say no phones at the table, right?"

"So we can spend time together as a family?"

"Exactly," Layla said. "You're getting to an age where you're growing more independent. Before you know it, you'll be done with high school and heading off to college. Your father and I just want to make sure we still get some time with you. Besides, he's stuck staring at a screen all day at work. It's good to just disconnect from technology for a little while, y'know?"

"I guess," she sighed. They were silent for a moment, and all Cobra could hear was quiet shuffling, then some sort of tapping sound.

His eyes rounded in horror when his phone went off with the little cricket chirp sound he'd set for texts from Lucy. There was movement on the bed while he reached into his pocket to try and silence the notification, and his head turned to find Layla grinning down at him. "Someone forgot to delete her messages before throwing the phone," she snickered. "Hi, Cobra."

"H-Hi…" Layla sat up and patted the bed, so he carefully got up and took a seat. "I'm sorry, Miss-"

She waved away the rest of his sentence, then handed Lucy her phone. "You're still grounded, Lucy," she said. "But you can have your phone back. I'll be checking it every day to see who you're texting, and you'll give it to me before we eat dinner. You won't get it back until after dinner's done, and I'll be taking it again at 8:30."

"Seriously?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide and confused.

"I want you to have it with you during school just in case there's an emergency. If I see that you're texting too much during class, I'll take it away entirely, and you won't get it back for a month."

"But-"

"And if you try deleting your messages, I can just as easily check with the phone company," Layla continued. "You won't get your phone back at all until the end of the school year."

Holy shit. Lucy would die without her phone for a whole month, let alone the rest of the school year. Cobra could manage with just talking to her when they were together, or calling her house phone so they could talk while she was at home, but still…

"I'll make sure she's not texting too much at school," he said. Was that why her grades had slipped like Jude said? Damn, was she spending more time texting him during class than actually paying attention? Was that actually his fault?

"I'd appreciate that, sweetie," Layla said, smiling over at him. "Now, you two say your goodbyes, and you sneak back out the same way you got in… No need to have Jude blow a head gasket with you traipsing out the front door."

Lucy and Cobra nodded quickly. Layla stood and glanced at the clock that read 8:32. Her smile turned slightly devious then.

"You can have your phone for the rest of the night tonight, Lucy," she said as she made her way to the door. "Your punishment starts tomorrow."

They both stared at Layla's back as she left the room and closed the door. Lucy clutched her pink Razr to her chest and finally looked at Cobra. After a moment, he couldn't help but laugh quietly right along with her. They'd dodged a serious bullet with that one. He could only assume that Jude hadn't read the texts he and Lucy had been sending, considering Cobra was still alive.

Lucy tucked her hair behind her ear as their laughter died down. "I guess you've gotta go."

"Yeah," he said. Cobra reached down and grabbed his boots, then started putting them on. "I'll see you at school tomorrow though."

They didn't chance talking - and potentially having Jude hear them if he was nearby - while he made sure he had everything and stood to leave through the open window. Lucy followed suit and leaned up to kiss him.

"I'll miss you."

Cobra smirked down at her. "I'm already missing you," he said. His arms wrapped around her waist. "Maybe we can study together tomorrow. Down in the living room, so your parents can keep an eye on us."

"That might work," she giggled. It took all the willpower he possessed to let her go and turn to the window. He crawled back through and, just before reaching out for the branch, he paused.

Cobra looked at Lucy over his shoulder. Her eyes were still puffy and red from when she'd been crying. But she was smiling at him the way she always did, and he couldn't stop himself from saying something that he hoped would brighten her mood.

"H-Hey, Lucy?"

"Hm?"

Cobra turned and put one leg inside her room, ignoring the way the window sill was digging into his ass. He reached out and took a steadying breath when she came closer and set her hand in his. With a small smile, he watched his thumb brush across her knuckles, then slowly met her curious gaze. "I love you," he said.

Her eyes widened slightly, and her lips parted in shock. He'd never said that to anyone before, but he didn't even have time to grow insecure over her reaction before she smiled so widely that his own lips turned up at the corners. "I love you, too," she breathed.

Cobra wasn't sure how he'd thought this would play out. But hearing her say that she loved him… He hadn't thought it would hurt inside. He was happy, he knew that. But it hurt, too, because he couldn't remember the last time someone had told him that they loved him. And here Lucy was, gladly saying it, smiling while she admitted her feelings for him as though she'd been waiting centuries to say those three little words to him.

Suddenly, he let her hand go and pulled his leg back out of her room. "Sweet dreams," he said. Cobra didn't wait for her response, instead choosing to forgo using the branch to climb back down altogether, and jumping from her window. His right ankle rolled a little when he landed, but the pain was worth it.

At least he'd gotten out of her room without her dad knowing he'd been there at all. As Cobra stood, he heard his phone go off with another text from Lucy. He put his weight on his left foot and checked the message.

 _Lucy: omg ru ok?! y wud u do dat?!_

He was never more thankful that his back was facing her than that moment as he texted her back.

 _Cobra: ill b fine. Get comfy in bed. ill call in a bit_

He heard her close the window and started walking toward the sidewalk. He wasn't going to limp while she could see him, even though his ankle was screaming. As soon as he was out of view from her bedroom, Cobra sat down on the curb and went to his contacts in his phone. He reached down and groaned when he gently prodded his ankle. Damn. He scrolled down until he reached _L_ and then clicked on the name he needed and put the phone to his ear.

It rang twice before being answered.

" _I'm going out on a limb here, and guessing that you got caught,"_ came Levi's teasing voice.

* * *

He's never been more thankful than in that moment as she kisses his sweaty forehead and runs her fingers through his hair. His hips twitch with the last shot of his release into the condom, and Erik knows he's a fucking mess. He still can't stop touching her, but his hands are slower now, more tender as he kneads her ass and thighs and waist. "Sorry," he finally mutters. "I shouldn't have said-"

"Shut up," Lucy says. He can't be sure what's going through her head right then, but then she kisses him and it all disappears. All he wants is to keep kissing her in the quiet hush that's left behind, now that they're not pawing at each other and chasing that delicious high of release.

Eventually, he's able to look down at her again. Morning light is barely filtering through her drapes, but there's just enough for him to appreciate the healthy glow on her cheeks. He's just now noticing how short her hair is. Funny, he'd thought it was longer - she'd always liked her hair past her shoulders - the night before with how she'd had it pinned up. Just that one difference has him realizing that she's grown in the past 10 years.

"Did you time it?" she asks with a smirk.

"Nope," he chuckles. "I was a little preoccupied."

"I don't think we beat our record." She hums as he reaches down to grasp the base of the condom, then pulls out. He's so tempted to kiss his way down her body and keep their fun going, but breakfast really does sound fabulous right now. Instead, Erik ties off the condom and tosses it into the half empty wastebasket Lucy always keeps by her nightstand.

They slowly stand and he puts his boxers back on. It's while he reaches for his shirt from the night before, staring in confusion at the missing buttons, that he hears her laugh.

"I guess we were a little enthusiastic last night."

"A little?" he asks, smirking at her over his shoulder. Oh, he remembers just how _enthusiastic_ he'd been when they'd crept up to her room - making sure not to wake her parents - and she'd barely had time to close her bedroom door before his lips were on hers. Lucy's hands had busied themselves with pulling off her panties before even attempting to remove her dress, and Erik had been so desperate in his need to feel her touching him that he'd ripped his dress shirt open.

Lucy's lips purse slightly, and she glances over at her closet. "Y'know, I still have your stuff that you left over here forever ago…"

His brows raise in surprise at that. She still has the shit he'd forgotten or gave to her? Why would she have held onto it for all this time?

She sifts through her dresser and pulls out a marigold lace thong, and puts it on before leading him to the closet. Fuck, he loves these thongs. So much. It's hard to pull his gaze away from the curve of her ass, especially when she opens the closet and bends over to move things around. Damn, he wants her bent over like this the next time they fuck.

Shit… He's already planning for more, and he knows there's no guarantee of that happening. Maybe this is her way of giving him back his stuff. She doesn't want it anymore. She doesn't need him taking up space in her life now.

But what about them fucking? Not just last night, but this morning, too… He'd woken up, naked, with her in his arms, and while Erik had been more than happy to simply bask in the perfection that was his existence at the time, Lucy had very different plans. She'd been so sensual as she rubbed her legs over his, kissed every inch of his chest, and crawled on top of him. Was this just her way of getting the closure she'd needed?

Erik knows he shouldn't be thinking like this. Alex is always reminding him that believing in permanence is alright, and his adoptive father has never steered him wrong. Sure, that optimism is usually something Erik struggles with, but if he makes the effort, things could turn out well.

He has to be careful though.

He can't get hurt again. It'll fucking kill him to have this small taste, this one reminder of everything that was ripped away from him, only to have her reject him. It's been years since he went home literally crying to his parents. They worry about him so fucking much…

She laughs in triumph while sliding a large box out of the back of her closet. When she moves to the side, he can see it has Layla's writing on the top. _Cobra_. That's all it says. So, Lucy hadn't even been the one to pack all this stuff up?

She sits down on her knees and opens it up, and he's surprised by the amount of junk inside. Movie stubs, ripped concert tickets, loose pictures of them together. A few weird gifts he'd given to her. He wonders if she ever actually threw anything away from their time together.

"Aw, remember this?" she laughs, pulling out a shit-brown metal lunchbox with a small dent on one side.

Cobra smiles and sits down beside her, pulling the box from her hands. His thumb brushes over the dent, then the white lettering that reads _Chocoholic Emergency Kit_.

* * *

"What did you just say?" Lucy muttered, frowning up at Cobra as they stood in front of the gym. She'd just finished with her gym class, and they should have already been walking to their Algebra 2 class together - sadly, it was the only class in their junior year that they had together. But she'd stopped dead in her tracks, and he still wasn't sure why.

"I said you can put extra chocolate in it, so when you're about to start your period…" He trailed off when he noticed how her jaw clenched. "What?"

"Are you trying to say I'm being bitchy, and I need to just calm down and have some chocolate?!" she screeched.

Cobra blinked slowly. That wasn't what he'd been saying at all. He just knew her period was coming soon. And she loved eating chocolate when her cramps were really bad. "... No?"

"You don't sound too sure of yourself," she huffed. "Y'know what? I don't want some underhanded gift that's just you telling me to shut up."

The last thing he'd been expecting was for his girlfriend to throw the little metal lunchbox at his head. Or for it to connect and hurt as much as it did. Cobra didn't move. He didn't say a word while she kept yelling at him about being a chauvinistic asshole - which he wasn't - and he didn't pay attention to the crowd that Lucy's little display was pulling in. He told himself that he wasn't hearing any of the whispers of the freshman gathered nearby, or the girls who were giggling over him being ripped a new one.

"Are you even listening to me?" Cobra nodded when she glared up at him. "I'm done. Don't talk to me. Don't look at me. Don't even think about me."

"Lucy-"

"No!" she snarled, poking him hard in the chest. "Just ride the bus home today, because I'm not driving you anywhere either." She turned and strode off, and he just barely caught her mumbling that he was a dick under her breath before the rest of the chatter around them filtered back in.

Cobra sighed and looked down at the box on the ground, then rolled his eyes and picked it up. It was a little dented from where she'd hit him with it, but he still put it back into his Misfits bag and started walking the same direction as she did. This day was going right to hell, just like everything else.

And here all he'd wanted was to give her a present to make her smile before he had to tell her the bad news…

* * *

It was two days before they spoke again. Lucy had been ignoring him entirely because she'd been so mad at him. Cobra still wasn't sure what it was about an innocuous little box that could've made her so angry, but it was clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. Honestly, it worked out. He'd been able to get a lot of cleaning done when he'd been at his foster home without her interrupting him.

But on Thursday, she showed up after school. He'd been working on his homework at the dining table while Marie did her scrapbooking, and there was a knock on the door. Mrs. Ackerman got up and answered it, and Cobra knew just who it was based on the happily raised pitch of her voice as she invited their guest inside.

"Erik," Marie called, "Lucy's here."

He looked up from his notebook, and Lucy stood in the doorway to the dining room with his hoodie in her hands. Damn. She'd had it for nearly a week already, even though the weather really wasn't cold enough to wear it. But she looked so adorable with it on, and he didn't mind it all that much that she wanted to borrow it as long as he didn't need to wear it to keep himself warm.

But her bringing it over right then after ignoring him for two days? He knew where this was headed.

She was breaking up with him.

Fuck.

No.

She couldn't be doing this. He didn't want to lose her, but...

With a soft sigh, he stood from his seat and put his hand out for the jacket once he was within arm's reach.

Lucy handed it over. "I wanted to make sure I got this back to you," she said softly. "It's about time I returned it."

Cobra knew there was no point in trying to apologize for the present he'd tried to give her. She really did love chocolate. It was the perfect gift. Maybe he shouldn't have phrased it the way he had, but that was in the past. And she looked as though she didn't really give a damn one way or another what he had to say anyway. "Thanks," he muttered. He didn't know what else he could say though. "I'll go put this away."

He couldn't be around her right then. It was hard enough to find the motivation to go to school as it was. He'd pulled away from everyone in the past couple days. It was better that way. Even Midnight and Angel had been getting the cold shoulder. Of course, Angel blamed it on Lucy being a bitch to him for no reason, but Cobra just ignored her.

"I wanted to ask," Lucy said quietly. "Do you think we could talk?"

He didn't want to have this conversation. But it needed to happen. He was sure that she needed to have that closure. She needed to be the one to officially break them up. That was fine with him. He didn't need to be the one to end things. In fact, it was probably better this way. He wouldn't have to break her heart. And he'd been spending the last couple days trying to figure out how he could do just that without hurting her.

"Sure," he muttered. "Come with me." He didn't wait for her, and instead turned and made his way to his room. Cobra kept his gaze on the floor so he wouldn't have to see how bare his bedroom looked now that he'd taken all of his stuff down. His dresser was empty. All of his clothes were already packed up in two duffel bags tucked into the corner. His posters had already been thrown out. There was no reason to keep them.

He ignored Lucy's sudden gasp when she saw his room, and went to one of his duffel bags to cram his hoodie inside it. He had to make it fit.

He couldn't bear to throw out anything else.

"Cobra, what's going on?" she whispered.

He stopped and closed his eyes. Of course she'd want to know what was happening. This wasn't like him. She shouldn't care, considering she was about to break up with him. Still, he loved her. And she did have a right to know, he supposed. It wasn't like it would be a secret for too much longer.

"She's pregnant," he said. "Levi got his wife pregnant, so I've gotta leave."

"Leave?"

"They need my room to be a nursery," he said, sneering. He didn't fault them for it. He was happy for them. Levi had told him that they'd decided to foster kids because his wife just couldn't get pregnant, and they did want kids. It just stung that he'd been so sure he had a shot of being adopted, only to get the fucking boot by a fetus. "There's no space for some foster kid with a baby of their own on the way."

He tried to blink away the tears in his eyes. He wasn't going to fucking cry right then. The last thing he needed was Marie hearing him and thinking he wasn't grateful for everything they'd done for him. How well they'd taken care of him.

"Do you know where your next-"

"No," he said. "There's no guarantee it'll be around here. I'm lucky I was able to move in with the Ackermans when I did before. Shit like that never happens…"

"So, we might not be going to the same school anymore?"

Cobra shrugged. More than likely, no. But he didn't need to say it. It was for the best for them to just break things off now. But he didn't need her to say it. In fact, he couldn't handle it if she really did break up with him. If he left, then they'd be done. He knew that. "You should go," he said. "Thanks for bringing my jacket back."

"Wait-"

"Leave," he said. He squared his shoulders and stood, then carefully guided her out of the room. Lucy tried to fight back, to keep herself in his personal space, but he was stronger than her. It didn't take much effort to get her out of his room, and he was as gentle as he could be so he didn't hurt her. He never wanted to hurt her. "I love you, Lucy," he said softly once she was outside of his room.

He couldn't bear to hear her response, so he closed the door in her face and locked it. He wasn't sure how long she stood there, but he finally heard her walking away. And with each step she took, his heart broke a little more. Cobra roughly wiped the tears from his eyes and leaned his back against the door.

He jumped when he heard Lucy's car door slam. She drove off not long after. God, he hoped she was okay. He hoped she drove home safely, regardless of how upset she was.

He looked around his room again, and felt another crack in the armor wrapped around his heart. He couldn't deal with this. This wasn't supposed to happen again. The little cricket chirp text sound went off on his phone, and he checked it out of habit. He knew it was Lucy. He didn't want to see her texts.

 _Lucy: Home safe. dont worry bout me._

Cobra's shoulders relaxed and he slid down to sit on the floor while turning off his phone. He cringed and threw it across the room. The odd crunching sound as it connected with his nightstand really didn't bode well for his phone, but he didn't fucking care.

None of it mattered anymore.

* * *

Cobra didn't go to school the next day. He couldn't bring himself to get out of bed, and he knew that Marie was definitely worried by his general lack of enthusiasm with getting up but he couldn't be bothered with caring. He was sure that she talked with Levi about his behavior. And what had happened with Lucy leaving on Thursday night only minutes after she'd arrived.

On Saturday, Levi picked the lock on his door, and talked with him about what was happening with his living arrangements. He confirmed that, most likely, Cobra would be moved to another foster home. He'd wanted to beg Levi to stay, but he bit his tongue and nodded along as the conversation continued.

It didn't fucking matter anyway.

"Can I get a ride to Lucy's?" he asked. "I-I need to give her stuff back."

Levi nodded. "Sure, kid. Everything okay with her?"

Cobra's breath was sharp when he tried to answer. It pierced his soul and nearly doubled him over. He _wished_ everything was okay. "I'll be ready in five minutes," he said instead.

He sat up and started grabbing clothes from his duffel, not noticing Levi's frown directed at his back. It didn't take nearly as much time to pick up the paper bag he'd put her things in. Granted, he always tried to make sure she took her stuff home. But there were some earrings, a pair of her socks when she'd come over and gotten rained on, one of her shirts, and a weird bracelet. She barely wore jewelry, but she somehow always forgot it at his place. Well, in his room… No, in the room he'd had the privilege of sleeping in for the past couple years.

He left the room and saw Levi standing by the door with his shoes on. Cobra stomped into his boots and followed him out to the car. The ride to Lucy's was silent. That was one of the things he really liked about Levi. He didn't pry. He let Cobra make his own decisions, and only put in his two cents when it was warranted.

They pulled up to Lucy's house, and Levi put the car in park. "I'll wait outside for you, okay?"

Cobra nodded. "Won't be long. I've gotta get a couple things from her room, but…" He sighed and got out of the car, making his way over to the front door. Hopefully, Jude would answer. Odd. He never wanted to see her father, simply because they just didn't get along. But right then? He was sure that if he told Jude he was giving Lucy her things back, and trying to get the last of his own possessions, the man would move mountains to make it happen as quickly as possible. At least then Cobra wouldn't feel horrible while explaining to Layla why he was doing this.

Luck wasn't on his side. Layla answered the door, and her bright smile at seeing him dimmed slightly when she took in his appearance. Shit, she looked worried.

"Cobra, sweetie? Is everything alright?"

He nodded and looked down at the bag in his hand. "I brought some of Lucy's things over. She left them in my room."

"That's very sweet of you," Layla said, smiling at him. She leaned out the door just a little and grinned when she saw Levi sitting in his car, waving in that sweet, neighborly way of hers.

"Do you think you could go in her room and get some of my stuff for me?" Cobra asked, drawing her attention back to him.

"Lucy's home," she said. "You can go on up. You know that."

He shook his head and shuffled back just slightly. He didn't want to go inside. He didn't want to remember how much of a _home_ she had, when he was losing the closest thing he'd had to that in years… and even then, it had never really been his home. "Could you just… do it for me?" he muttered, staring down at his ratty boots. He couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten new shoes. He hated asking his foster parents for things, so he just made what he had last as long as possible. "And give this to her. She should get her stuff back."

Layla frowned. He could feel it pressing down on his shoulders the longer she stared at him. "Come inside," she said softly.

"Levi's waiting for me."

"Well, I'm sure he'll be fine waiting for a couple minutes. Don't be rude, dear."

He sighed and his shoulders slumped as her arm wrapped around them, gently guiding him into the foyer. He didn't take off his shoes. Cobra had no plans on being here long enough for that. "I just need my grey Tripp pants, and those two shirts she has," he said. "She knows which ones…"

Layla patted his shoulder and walked upstairs, leaving him to stare at the small bag of Lucy's belongings he'd found. There was probably more of her shit hiding in the crevices of his bags that he hadn't noticed, but she would just have to call those full losses. Once he was gone, when he found them, he'd struggle to throw them away. He knew that. It would be a reminder of the girl he'd loved with all his heart.

Soft footsteps descended the stairs, pausing before reaching the bottom. "Cobra?" Lucy asked.

He couldn't look at her. All he could manage was shoving the paper bag in her direction. Just hearing her voice was gonna make him cry, and he didn't want to do that. He couldn't let her see how much this was tearing him apart. He couldn't let anyone see it.

"I'm giving you your stuff back," he said. "I don't need all my stuff that's here, just… just a couple things I don't wanna not have when I leave."

"... I see," she said, shuffling on the step. "It's all up in my room. I-I can help you find it."

"Sure," he muttered. Cobra kicked his boots off - only because he knew how much Layla hated when people wore shoes in the house, and he wasn't going to disrespect her rules now, even though he'd probably never see her again. Once they reached Lucy's room, he tossed the bag on her bed and went to her dresser. "Those two shirts I like," he said over his shoulder.

She nodded and went to her closet. He didn't want to go through her clothes, but he could find the pants easily enough. The material was thin, but soft, with cargo pockets out the fucking wazoo. It was the first pair of pants he'd gotten from the Ackermans.

"Here you go," she said just when he found the pants and closed the dresser drawer.

Cobra took the shirts from her. "Thanks," he said. "I'll get going-"

"Cobra, wait-"

"Levi's waiting for me," he said, turning to the door.

"When did you find out you'd have to move?" she asked. He started walking, and closed his eyes when she followed. Why couldn't she just leave well enough alone?

"Levi told me she's pregnant the day before I tried to give you that box… I just wanted to give you something nice before my social worker comes and hauls me away." He took a step. "And then you yelled at me and threw it in my face." He took another step, then a third. "That's when it hit me… everything with me and you is pointless, y'know? I knew it wouldn't last… I always lose."

He had to be strong now. He had to keep his composure while he was here. When he was back at the Ackermans' house, he could stay holed up in that bedroom, crying his eyes out. Silently, so they wouldn't check on him. So they wouldn't know how much this was tearing him apart. He wasn't going to ruin their happiness over finally having the baby they'd always wanted with his own bullshit. He was always just a backup anyway.

Besides, if they'd wanted to adopt him, they would've done it by now.

"Don't just walk away from me," she groaned. "Cobra, come on. Just talk to me!"

"There's nothing to talk about," he said. He made it to the top of the stairs when she made a grab for him. He shifted out of the way, his steps falling faster so he could get away. He had to get away from her.

"You're being a real jerk right now!" she yelled.

The tears were burning on his lashes. His breath stuttered when she reached for him again and clutched desperately at his sleeve. "Just forget about me, Lucy!" he yelled back, turning to glare up at her. "I'm not worth your time! I've gotta go, and there's nothing we can do to change it! So what's the point in fighting?!"

He turned back and ripped his arm away from her loosened grip, all but running down the stairs. He couldn't be here anymore. He couldn't listen to her yell at him over things he had no control over. He just had to get his hoots and run out the door. He wouldn't even put them on. Just grab them and go, hop into the car, and lock the door and hope with everything he had that Levi wouldn't ask any questions.

If only it had been that simple.

Layla appeared in front of him once he reached the bottom of the stairs, and her hands on his shoulders stopped him dead in his tracks. "Cobra, what's going on?"

"Nothing!" he yelled, trying to shake her off. Her grip was too strong. Or maybe he was just too much of a bitch to get her to let go. Maybe he didn't want her to let go at all… But she had to. They all had to forget about him. "You're not my mom, so stop acting like you give a damn what happens to me! No one does!"

Layla's shocked stare moved over his face, then past his shoulder to Lucy who was still standing behind him.

"He's moving to another foster home," she said softly.

Understanding dawned across her gentle features. "Oh, honey," Layla whispered, looking into his teary eyes. "It's alright…"

"It's not," Cobra whimpered. "I don't wanna leave…" There. He'd said it. And once the truth was out, there was no stopping the emotions that had been swirling in his gut for days. No, longer than that. It was something that always lurked in the background, every time he went to a new foster home. He always wondered how long it would last before he had to pack up his life and start all over. He stumbled back, dropping the clothes he'd been clutching so tightly while turning to face Lucy again. Once he saw her, his tears broke free. He closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, a sharp cry catching in his throat.

When she held him just as tightly, he lost the will to keep quiet anymore.

"I don't wanna lose you," he cried. "It's not fair! I-I already lost my mom, and I don't have anyone who loves me. And now I've got you, and… and they're gonna take me away somewhere. I'll be all alone again!"

Lucy didn't say a word, but she squeezed him just enough to help him feel like he wasn't completely falling apart at the seams. For him to remember that she really did care, and that she wanted to hear what he had to say. What he'd been keeping to himself all this time.

"They won't love me as much as they love their baby. A-And I wanna be a big brother. I just wanna _belong_ somewhere! Anywhere! But I don't belong anywhere, and I don't _fit in_ … and you gave me that! You and your parents. I can feel it. You care about me…"

Cobra wasn't sure why, but his legs wouldn't hold him. And Lucy couldn't hold his weight on her own. He collapsed in front of her, latching onto her legs in a desperate attempt to keep her with him just a little longer.

"Please, baby… don't let them send me away. I don't wanna go… J-Just make it stop…"

He tried to hold on tighter when she pried his arms from her legs. Couldn't she see how much he needed her? He didn't want to break up. He didn't want any of this! He just wanted one good thing in his life, was that so much to ask?

"Cobs, it's okay," Lucy whispered. She sat down in front of him, grunting when he hugged her again.

"I can't keep it all inside anymore. It's eating me up. Every day. I'm always scared they're gonna find some reason to send me away, and now this?" He shook his head, trembling as a heavy sob wracked his body. "I didn't do anything wrong! I don't wanna leave them. But I can't tell them that, and if I try they'll just think… I don't know. I just wanna be a good kid with a family! Why won't they just adopt me?"

"I don't know," Lucy whispered. "I wish I could make it all better."

"No one can," he whimpered. "No one wants me…"

"We do." Cobra eyes shot open at the sound of Levi's voice behind him. He'd been so absorbed in holding onto Lucy and his own bullshit that he hadn't even heard the front door open. He turned to find Levi staring down at him with a sad pinch to his thin brows. He knelt in front of Cobra and Lucy, letting out a soft sigh. "Erik, Marie and I never wanted it to come to this."

"Wh-What?" he sniffled. He couldn't lock it up, and keep Levi from seeing him cry.

"We submitted paperwork to officially adopt you last month," Levi said softly. "We're waiting for them to review our application right now. We wanted to surprise you with it when it got approved. And, if we get denied, we didn't want you getting your hopes up…"

What the hell did he mean? "You really want…" He couldn't wrap his brain around it, even when Levi smiled at him and nodded. His foster father wasn't really one for smiling. Ever, actually. But he was doing it right then.

"There might still be a hiccup or two," Levi said, placing a calloused hand on Cobra's arm. "With Marie being pregnant, we need to look into getting a bigger house. Or try to show the adoption agency that we're looking to move so you'll have a room of your own by the time the baby comes."

"I-I don't need it," Cobra said. He knew that he sounded so hopeful, but inside… he knew the truth. This was all wishful thinking. It was a good thing he'd already packed his bags. It didn't matter that they were trying to adopt him. It was going to fall through. He knew that. Because nothing ever went the way it was supposed to for him. "I've shared a room with babies before. And I…" His gaze drifted down to the floor, and he ignored how his ears burned. "I'd be glad to help out in the middle of the night so Marie can sleep."

"You'll be a great big brother," Levi chuckled.

"Cobs," Lucy said, frowning down at him, "I thought you said you had to move because she's pregnant…"

He sighed and roughly wiped his eyes, his shoulders slumping. "It's happened before," he muttered. "Foster mom gets pregnant, then I have to leave. Because they don't want a kid that's not theirs when they can have the real deal…"

"We still want you," Levi said gently. "I wish you'd talked to us about this when we told you."

"No point," Cobra said. "Why rock the boat?"

He hadn't expected Levi to lean forward and wrap him up in a tight hug. They weren't really much for hugging, all things considered. But it was happening right then. And then Levi's strong hand wrapped around the back of Cobra's head, pulling him flush against his shoulder, and he whispered something that finally had him hugging his foster father back. "We love you, Erik. You don't have to be afraid of being honest with your mom and dad."

* * *

Erik sighs while looking at the lunchbox. It was only another couple months after he'd talked with Levi that their adoption application had been denied. Just when he'd started to believe they really would adopt him, and had unpacked his things again, his social worker showed up and told him it was time to move. He'd been devastated.

He'd cried all over again, hugging Marie and telling her that he didn't want to leave. He'd begged her to help somehow, but there was nothing they could do. God, their kid had to be a little over 10 now.

Erik wasn't going to try and reconnect with them, though. Sure, they'd wanted to adopt him, but there was no reason to pop up in their lives and let their kid know that he'd almost been the thing's older brother.

"I remember you chucking this thing at my face," Erik chuckles, handing her the dented lunchbox again.

"In my defense, I started my period, like, two days after that," she giggles. "As soon as the cramps hit, I was sorely missing this stupid box."

"It's not stupid," he smirks.

Lucy simply rolls her eyes at him, then sets her attention back on the box in front of her. She rummages through it for another minute, and then laughs as she pulls out a pile of folded clothing.

Erik's shocked when he sees his old Slipknot hoodie. He'd loved that thing, and the iron-on appliqué is barely holding on with how many times it's been washed. This had been his favorite hoodie - and his only one for years. When he'd been taken from his foster home on prom night, he'd written off anything that he didn't get back as being taken for evidence against his foster parents. Had Lucy really had it this whole time?

"I wore this thing for months after you disappeared," she whispers, running her thumbs over the faded once-black material. She takes a shaky breath, then sets it to the side. There are a couple shirts with funny sayings on them that he barely remembers even owning, the belt he'd given her with that obnoxious _Parental Advisory Keep Out_ buckle, and a pair of his jeans with large holes worn into the knees and tattered hems.

He places a hand on hers, brushing his thumb across her knuckles, and receives a gentle smile in return. "I'm back now, though," he says, then smirks. "But I think you can hold onto the hoodie for good."

"You're so kind," she laughs. For good measure, he picks up the jacket and unzips it, then drapes it over her shoulders. She puts her arms through the thinned sleeves easily, and he can't help but smile as he zips it up again.

"Beautiful," he says while pulling gently on her fingers and rolling up the sleeves. Her head turns away from him, and she hides just a little behind her hair. Is she really doing that again? It took months for him to break that habit of hers.

Erik still isn't sure why she'd been so shy when they'd started dating, but every time he'd complimented her, Lucy had shied away from him.

Except now, her hair's much shorter, falling just at the nape of her neck in the back and slanting downward to an inch below her chin at the front. It suits her, he realizes as his hand raises to tuck the golden strands behind her ear. When Lucy looks at him again, her cheeks are flaming a bright red. She's even more beautiful when she looks at him like this.

He's royally fucked.

Erik knows he'll never be able to turn back now.

"Breakfast won't wait forever," she says.

Erik nods and plucks the clothes from her hands. "I just hope these fit."

Lucy laughs again and reaches into the box again. This time, she pulls out a pair of her jeans that he'd completely ruined with a Sharpie. "Well, let's see if I can still fit in my clothes from high school too," she says. "That way you won't be all by yourself."

It takes a little work for him to get the jeans over his legs, and this Papa Roach shirt is tighter than he remembers, but the clothes do still fit. It takes no work to button his pants. Except… the holes in his jeans are giving him a serious draft. Did he really wear clothes like this when he was in high school? How the hell did he not worry himself to death over whether or not people could see his fucking testicles!

"Oh my god, look at you!" Lucy laughs. He turns and smirks over at her, looking her up and down. Damn it all to hell, she looks like she did in high school. That jacket still reaches down to her thighs, and the bootcut jeans with his writing and doodles all over them fit her just as tightly as they used to.

"Look at yourself," he says. Erik wraps his arms around her, dragging her flush against his chest. "I'm having flashbacks."

"Good ones, I hope," she rasps.

"Only the best." He hums when her lips press against his, and her fingers thread through his hair. A moment later, she finds a knot, and yanks a little harder than necessary.

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

Erik steps back and roughly brushes his fingers through his hair, tipping his head back to help the process along.

"I can see your tummy," Lucy croons. He jumps when her fingers run lightly along the line of maroon hairs leading from his navel and down into his boxers. "Cobra, I have a brush, y'know."

"True, but that takes time." He ties his hair up into a high, messy ponytail just like he always does during labs in his class. Sure, his students usually snicker over it, but it keeps his hair out of his face. "All set."

He's surprised when she takes his hand and leads him to the door. They walk down the stairs together, hand in hand, and it's more than a walk down memory lane. He can't remember how many times he's walked down these stairs with her, just like this. Even though it's been years, it feels like just yesterday that she was leading him to the door for the first time, hours after their first kiss.

They find Jude and Layla sitting at the table, drinking coffee and chatting with one another. There's no food on the table, though, and that's definitely concerning. How long had they been sitting here, waiting for Lucy to come downstairs? It wasn't _that_ long since Layla had come upstairs and found him balls deep in her daughter, was it?

Or maybe they'd taken a bit longer than he'd anticipated, and then with them looking through that box, maybe it had really been a bit since Layla had come upstairs.

"Well, if this isn't a blast from the past!" Layla laughs as she takes in their appearances. "And good morning!" It's the same way he remembers from when he'd actually been allowed to sleep over (only when there were other friends sleeping over as well, and then he'd had to sleep downstairs with the boys while the girls slept in Lucy's room). "I've got everything dished up and keeping warm in the oven."

"Mom, you guys didn't have to wait," Lucy says as she sits down in her usual seat. Erik takes a seat between her and Layla's empty seat, briefly noticing how her father's gone grey at the temples.

Layla ignores her and pulls plates from the oven. She busies herself with setting everything on the table, and Erik waits until Lucy's poured herself a cup of coffee before fixing his own. Black, no sugar. Just like Alex drinks it. He'd learned about drinking coffee from his adoptive father, after all.

Erik looks over at Jude after taking a sip of his coffee. "I completely understand why you didn't like me," he chuckles. "I look ridiculous."

"You were the epitome of grunge fashion in high school," Lucy says.

"If my students saw me like this, I'd die of embarrassment," he mutters while Layla finally sits down. Lucy laughs and takes a bite of her food, rolling her eyes at him. But it's the truth. He'd rather be caught dead than let his students see how he used to dress when he was their age.

"So," Jude says, looking at Lucy and Erik, "Layla has informed me that she found you inside my daughter."

* * *

 **And this chapter is finished! Don't worry, we'll be returning to this story for Day 8 of CoLu Week 2019! I hope you enjoyed the little references that weaseled their way into this monster of a story. (Levi refused to be ignored).**

 **There's another 8k of outline that was supposed to appear in this chapter, but we're already at 16k on the word count! I figured it'd be better to break it up.**

 **Tomorrow's prompt will appear in** _ **Paging Dr. Cobra**_ **.**


	3. 2019, Day 8: Download

**A/N: And now we're back for the final chapter! I hope you guys enjoy! You've waited long enough for this.**

 **There's an important note at the end.**

* * *

 **CoLu Week 2019  
Day 8  
** _ **Download**_

* * *

The coffee Erik had been sipping, rockets right into his fucking lungs. Layla smacks his back to stop him from coughing, but it's not doing a whole lot of anything to help. Next to him, Lucy's nose turns into a spigot for her coffee.

Jude couldn't possibly have said what Erik is sure he just did. There's no fucking way. He can't find the will to glance at Lucy, to find out that she's staring at Jude with much the same expression as him.

Jude's serious expression cracks a moment later, and he laughs, rather loudly, at the looks on their faces.

That scares Erik even more. He can't remember ever seeing Lucy's father laughing like this.

"Can I assume that you two are together again?" he asks.

Cobra finally stops coughing and looks at Lucy. She looks back at him, her whole face red. That's something they haven't really talked about all that much. He refuses to answer for her, even though everything in him is hoping that it's a yes. He wants her back. He wants it more than he's ever wanted anything in his life. He just wants to be with her again.

"Uh," she says. "W-We haven't uh… I mean, we haven't really… Well… There was a lot of catching up, and… I mean, we talked a lot! And, um..."

Jude shakes his head, still smiling. He takes a bite of his egg whites. "You do realize, there's already a video of you two dancing posted on the alumni's Facebook page? It showed up on my feed a few minutes ago."

"What?!" Lucy screeches.

Erik is slightly unnerved that her father's able to use the internet effectively. In his experience, most Boomers are inept where technology is concerned. Like his own father… Alex still calls him up asking how to get the internet to work right, regardless of the amount of times Erik's told him that there's more to troubleshooting "internet problems" than "there's a dinosaur on the screen."

Layla sighs, and when Erik looks at her, she has a dreamy, dewy look in her eyes. "Such a romantic song," she hums, then seems to come back to herself as she turns to Lucy. "And was that Loke I saw? Was he there?"

"Yeah," Lucy says. "He showed up with some girl."

"I never did like that Loke fellow," Jude says, frowning. "You wasted your time with him."

Erik's jaw drops. In high school, everyone said that if Lucy wasn't with him, they could see her with Loke. He'd always thought that was the sort of guy Jude wanted his daughter to be with.

"Well, that's a given, since he cheated on me," Lucy says.

"No, I didn't like him before that," Jude says. "He was too… nice around us." He points his fork toward Erik, causing his target's asshole to tighten slightly. But Jude's still looking at Lucy. "None of the men you dated compared to this one."

Lucy frowns. "I thought you hated Cobra."

"Nonsense," Jude huffs. "This boy was nothing but respectful, but he didn't try to be someone he wasn't just to please me and your mother. He treated you well. You never came home crying because of him."

Erik was officially fucking confused. He'd always thought Jude hated him. Had… Had that not been the case? But all those years, all those interactions between them (however seldom). Erik was sure he would've noticed her father trying to offer an olive branch of some sort. Had he just imposed his own perception of the situation, and perpetuated that in their every interaction? Had Erik really been the one who'd been so untrusting of the stereotype her father fit into, that he'd assumed they would never get along… and then they never did?

Jude pauses in his speech for a moment, letting out a heavy sigh as he takes another bite of his food. "You have no idea how many horror stories I've heard from coworkers, lamenting about their teenage daughters."

"And when they ask how he dealt with you when you were that age, they think you're just an absolute angel," Layla laughs. "You should see the terror Junelle's daughters have become. They're running circles around that poor man."

Erik has no idea who that is, but Lucy laughs. The sound is almost vindictive. He'll be sure to ask her more about that later on.

"And I tell them that you found a boy who was perfect for you, and you two were together all through high school," Jude says. "So there was never any issue." He looks at Erik and smirks. "And I didn't have to deal with a great number of things… Because someone was there, fighting those battles for me."

* * *

Jude frowned at his Blackberry when it started ringing. This was his day off, and he damn well planned to enjoy himself. Layla was on her way back from lunch with Grammie and Spetto, and Lucy was at the mall with her boyfriend. He nearly ignored it, but then he saw the name on the caller ID. He pressed the little green call button, and put the phone to his ear. "Detective Ackerman, how can I help you?"

" _I just got a call from Marie, saying Cobra was brought into the ER with a broken arm."_

"What?!" Jude sat up on the couch, his eyes wide. Lucy and Cobra had been at the mall together. How in the world had something like that happened? Was his daughter alright? "Is Lucy-"

" _Marie says Cobra won't say what happened, just that he got into a fight, and told Lucy to go home. She's fine, I'm assuming."_

He relaxed only marginally. It was good to hear that Lucy was alright - and he knew to expect her home any minute, more than likely in tears - but he was still worried about Cobra. He knew that boy had a rough streak, but he'd never known him to get into a fight. Regardless of his appearance, Jude had seen for himself that Cobra was a sweet kid. Especially when it came to Lucy.

" _I hate to do this, but Marie's on shift all day, and I'm downtown following up on a lead. She said as long as there's nothing more serious, he should be discharged in a couple hours…"_

"When will we know if there's anything more serious?" Jude asked. He couldn't imagine the pain Cobra must be in. What if there was something worse? What if he had internal bleeding? What if-

" _Marie's not allowed to help treat him, but the hospital's letting her be there with him for a few minutes. The doctor knows who he is, and he'll tell Marie right away if there are complications."_

"Good," Jude said. He stood from the couch, and started pacing. It was a habit he'd picked up years ago while on the phone, usually on business calls, and Layla always laughed at him over his potential to wear a hole in the carpet. It helped him focus, though.

" _When he's discharged, could you… Or Layla… Could you take him home? I hate this. No one will be there to take care of him, but-"_

"Say no more," Jude chuckled. "We'll bring him home with us, and you or Marie can pick him up later on."

" _I don't want to inconvenience-"_

"Nonsense. Lucy is probably worried sick right now. She'll feel better if she can stay with him." He turned when a car pulled into the driveway, then made his way to the living room window. His daughter turned off her car and sat behind the wheel. "She's home now."

" _If it's too much trouble, I'm sure they can release him to Marie. He'll be stuck at the hospital until she's off work, though."_

"Let her know we're happy to help," Jude said softly. "That boy has grown on us in the last three years."

Levi chuckled on the other end of the line. _"He's a great kid. See if you can get him to talk about what happened. I need to know if there's someone who needs arresting."_

Jude snorted, watching Lucy finally get out of her car. She slammed the door and stormed up the front walkway. "I'll talk with Lucy, as well. We'll head over to the hospital soon."

" _Thank you so much, Jude. Really, thank you."_

"I know you would do the same if this was Lucy," he said. "Try to stay calm, Levi." They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. Jude turned as Lucy opened the door. Once she was inside, he noticed her puffy red eyes. His eyes narrowed. Had Cobra been the one to make her cry? Or was it something else? "Lucy."

She sniffled and kicked her shoes off. "Hey, Dad."

"You should put your shoes back on," he said softly. "Once your mother gets home, we're going to the hospital."

Her eyes widened. "Wh-What?"

"I got an interesting phone call from Detective Ackerman," Jude said. "When that boy is discharged, we'll be picking him up and bringing him back here."

Lucy sniffled again, then rushed forward and hugged him tightly. "Th-Thank you, Dad!" Jude smiled as he held her in his arms.

* * *

Jude sat in the car, waiting as Layla and Lucy went into the hospital to pick up Cobra. It took longer than they'd anticipated, but Marie had been texting Layla updates as often as she could manage while still effectively working her shift at the nurse station in the ICU.

What they had thought would only be a couple hours for his bones to be set and a cast to be put on, ended up having Cobra at the hospital overnight. His surgery took an hour and a half, but he'd needed to wake up from the anesthesia, then the doctor wanted to keep him under observation in case of complications from the surgery. Jude wasn't sure what had happened, but Cobra was stuck in the hospital another three days after that. From what he understood, he had a mild reaction to the medication they'd put him on.

Apparently, Cobra was allergic to opioids.

His phone chirped, and he checked the text message from Layla.

 _Layla: On our way out now. Pull up to the ER curb. They have him in a wheelchair. It's so precious._

Jude chuckled and set his phone on the passenger seat. He drove through the parking lot, and stopped by the emergency entrance. He put the car in park and got out to open the passenger door in the back seat. Lucy would more than likely want to sit with Cobra, and he'd already sent Levi a text letting him know that Cobra was welcome to sleep over and head home the next day. With how late it was, it just seemed like the right thing to do.

Jude was even willing to concede letting Cobra sleep in Lucy's bed, so he could be comfortable. As long as her door stayed open the whole night.

His wife and daughter appeared at the doorway, and Jude's gaze slid down to find Cobra slouching in a wheelchair with a dark purple cast leading from just above his right elbow, down over his hand. His eyes were half-lidded, hazy. The poor child must have really been out of it with the medication they'd given him.

Lucy stopped the wheelchair next to the car, and tried to help Cobra stand. "Come on, Cobs," she giggled. "It's time to go home."

"I wanna go home with you," he moaned. "Baby…"

Jude put a hand on her shoulder, then leaned down to wrap his arms around Cobra's chest. "Up we go," he whispered. "We're taking you home with us. But you have to get in the car."

"Sweet," Cobra sighed. He helped as much as possible while Jude settled him in the back seat. It wasn't all that helpful. The boy must have been a lightweight with medication, because Jude was murdering his back trying to help a teenage-sized ragdoll into his car.

Once it was all finished, and Layla had returned the wheelchair to the hospital lobby, they drove away from the hospital. Thankfully, Layla was the one who broke the tense silence five minutes into the drive.

"What happened, Cobra?" she asked, turning to look at him. "Lucy said you got taken away from the mall in an ambulance."

"Bunch of idiots started talking crap about her," Cobra sighed. He leaned his head back on the seat and closed his eyes. "I was right there with her, and they kept talking. Got into a fight. Told her to go home when the ambulance came."

"How did your arm get broken?" Layla asked. Jude adjusted his rearview mirror, and he saw that Cobra's lip was split. A large bruise was already plain to see on his jaw.

"One of 'em kicked me in the nuts," Cobra sighed. "'Nother one pushed me. Landed wrong, I guess."

"You were throwing freaking haymakers," Lucy muttered.

Cobra chuckled, turning his head toward her. Jude kept his eyes on the road, glancing back every once in a while. He didn't miss the moment Cobra's eyes opened and honed in on Lucy through his medicated haze. That was nearly identical to the way Layla had looked at him after having Lucy. "There was one guy left?"

Lucy nodded. "Just one," she said. "He's the one that kicked you. And then he picked you up and tried to bodyslam you, and you stuck your arm out to break the fall…"

"I'll be fine, though," he sighed. "You okay?"

Lucy nodded, and Jude's brows drew together when she looked out the window. "Worry about yourself for once," she muttered.

"This is nothing," Cobra chuckled. "They've got me on great pain meds…"

Lucy scowled at him, and Jude listened as she crossed her arms. Layla's hand reached across the center console, and she laced her fingers with his.

"I'm sorry I made you cry," Cobra breathed.

Jude didn't see Cobra kissing her knuckles, but Layla definitely did. "No more fighting, dear," she said. "If someone starts talking about Lucy, you walk away. Be the bigger man."

"They upset her," Cobra said, frowning at Layla. "I wasn't just gonna stand there and not defend her."

Jude's grip on the steering wheel tightened as he slowed the car. He put on his blinker, then turned at the entrance for the pharmacy closest to their house. "There are other ways to get back at someone," he finally said. "Using your fists will only get you into trouble."

"... Yes, sir," Cobra muttered.

"Layla, please help him inside to get his prescription," Jude said. He parked, and waited as Cobra and Layla got out of the car. Jude didn't turn to look at his daughter. He didn't need to see her to know that she was trying not to cry. But he'd given her several days to come to him on her own and talk about what had happened at the mall, and she hadn't done it. "What were they saying, Lucy?"

"It's not important…"

"Tell me," he said, frowning at her in the rearview mirror.

She crossed her arms over her chest a little more tightly. "They said I looked like a slut," she finally said. "The one that broke Cobra's arm… He kept saying 'Only whores have tits that big,' and 'I can't wait to motorboat those.'"

Jude's grip on the steering wheel tightened. He'd seen what Lucy was wearing when she came home from the mall. He didn't allow her to buy clothes that were too revealing, but he also understood that the size of her chest gave her very limited options if she wanted to stay modest. In his eyes, she wasn't dressed inappropriately in a tank top and jeans. So many girls her age wore the same clothes…

What was the world coming to?

"They were just being gross, Dad," she said. "Cobra didn't have to go off and started beating them up."

"I understand why he did," he mumbled under his breath. His eyes narrowed as Layla led Cobra out of the pharmacy with her arm around his shoulders. He would need to talk with Lucy's boyfriend about what he'd done. Now that he had the whole story, Jude wanted to pat that boy on the back.

* * *

"But you," Jude says, looking right into Erik's eye. "You were someone I approved of. Of all the boys in that school that she could have picked, you were the one." He eats another bite of eggs, then wipes his mouth and moustache with his napkin. "The fact that you asked my permission to even take her to prom, gave me a great deal of respect for you."

Lucy frowns, and looks at Erik. "You asked him for permission to take me to prom?"

Erik hides his suddenly flushed cheeks by taking a large gulp of coffee. It was stupid as hell, but he'd wanted to ask for permission from her father. It's what he would've done if he'd been able to propose to her. He would've asked her parents for permission, first.

"Did he not tell you?" Jude chuckles.

* * *

Jude looked up from his computer in the study when Layla gently knocked on the partially opened door. She smiled while peeking into the room. "Cobra's here," she said.

Jude frowned. "He knows Lucy's at her yearbook meeting," he said.

"Yeah, he says he wants to talk to you. It seems pretty important, Jude."

With a soft sigh, he stood and saved the document he'd been working on, then followed his wife down the hall and into the living room. Cobra sat on the couch, his leg nervously jumping. Jude took a seat in his favorite recliner, and waited.

"Is your cast coming off soon?" Layla asked.

Jude was so thankful for her continued presence in his life. She was always so good at opening up a conversation, making up for his shortcomings.

"The doctor says another month, tops," he said. Cobra turned his attention to Jude. "So, you know how I've been dating Lucy for three years... And this is probably gonna sound stupid, but… Is it alright if I ask her to go to prom with me?"

He knew his wife was nearly bursting with excitement. Jude's eyes narrowed. It was still the beginning of the school year. Was he really already thinking about prom? "Why are you asking me this?"

"Because I know you don't like me," Cobra said. Well, that was surprising. Did he really think Jude hated him? "You haven't liked me since the day you met me, and I don't know if it's because I'm a foster kid or because of how I dress, or something else. I just know you think Lucy deserves better than me."

Well, Cobra wasn't wrong there. "She does," Jude said. He could feel his wife glaring at him, but it was the truth. No one would be good enough for his daughter, in his opinion. But Cobra was the closest she could probably get to a perfect boyfriend.

"Look, sir, I love Lucy," he said. "I've loved her for a long time. And it probably doesn't mean a whole lot to you, but it means the world to me. We've both watched our friends jump from one person to the next, and all the drama that comes afterwards. And maybe you think Lucy deserves a guy who fits your standards. I never will, and that's fine."

Jude truly appreciated how he didn't break eye contact. He nearly smiled at Cobra, then. This was definitely a serious matter for him, it seemed.

"I'm not really one for school dances, but she is. And if I can make her happy by going to this dance with her, then I will."

"Then why are you asking for my permission?"

"Because I want to show you that I have enough respect for her parents, and for her, to ask you first."

He was silent for a moment. That was interesting. It seemed Cobra had a bit of an old-fashioned spirit. Or maybe that was just something he'd learned over the years. Jude couldn't be sure how much of his personality had been affected by moving from one house to the next, but he did remember Layla telling him about the scene Cobra had caused just before his arm had gotten broken…

The instability in Cobra's life did worry Jude. It was even worse when Layla told him that Cobra had eventually been taken away from the Ackermans, even though they'd wanted to adopt him. Apparently, Cobra's social worker had made the recommendation for denial based on their current living situation and the knowledge that Marie was pregnant, and the judge took it at face value.

He was just happy that Cobra hadn't been forced to move to another school district. Still, Jude didn't know what his new foster family was like.

When he thought about it, he wasn't sure of a lot of things where Cobra was concerned. The boy had been in his daughter's life for nearly three years, and Jude had never really had a full conversation with him.

"I still don't know what she sees in you," he finally muttered. Jude cleared his throat. "Tell me, what made you want to date her?"

The question seemed to take Cobra by surprise. His cheeks flushed a soft pink, and he finally looked at the floor instead of staring into Jude's eyes. Interesting. "She looks really cute when she's grossed out," he mumbled. Layla giggled beside him. "We had to dissect a frog in freshman year."

"Yes, I remember," Jude said. "She got an A on that."

Cobra scratched the back of his neck and smiled. "Because I asked her to be partners with me," he said. "I heard her telling Levy that she was too freaked out to do it. I did the dissecting, and she wrote everything I told her to."

Jude's eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. So that was how his daughter, who'd always avoided dissections in her science classes in the past, had aced the assignment? By having someone else do the work for her? Still, the fact that Cobra had mentioned something like that over his daughter's appearance was definitely a tick in the boy's favor. "What else?"

Cobra frowned, and looked back at him. "She's funny and smart and she's the sweetest girl in the whole school," he said. He still hadn't mentioned anything about thinking Lucy was _sexy_. Maybe that was intentional. Maybe cobray wouldn't be stupid enough to say that to her father. "Lucy's always been there for me when I need her. She doesn't ever bring up the fact that I don't really have a family, and she's helped me more than I can say."

"In what way?" Now they were getting somewhere. This was what he really wanted to know about the boy his daughter had fallen for. There was something in his soft indigo eyes that spoke of how deep his affection for Lucy ran, but Jude wanted to know if he could out those feelings into words when it mattered.

Cobra's jaw clenched, and he looked away again. He must have been angry over the line of questioning, but Jude needed to know. "She's asked me to come over to study when we don't need to… since she knows I don't really want to go back to that house."

Jude frowned, glancing at Layla. That was definitely concerning. What in the world could he mean by that? Was there really something wrong with the family he'd been moved to? Maybe it was just that he still missed the Ackermans. He'd been with them far longer than any other home, from what Layla had said.

"Cobra," Layla whispered, her brows furrowed. "Is everything alright?"

Cobra nodded. He stayed silent as Layla sat down beside him. She wrapped her arm around him, pulling his head to her shoulder. He looked so small and fragile like that. "She's the best friend I could've ever asked for," he said, looking at Jude again. "I just want to make her happy."

Jude was silent, thinking as he looked back at Cobra. He really didn't have a problem with the boy. Sure, he'd been dealt a horrible hand in the way of his home life, but it was clear that he tried to make the best of things. He worked so hard to keep his nose clean, to do the right thing. Finally, Jude stood from his recliner. He really did need to get back to work. "It's up to Lucy," he said. "If she says yes, then I won't stop her. This is her life, so she should make those decisions on her own."

He left the living room, but paused once he reached the hallway. Something, he wasn't sure just what it was, but something made him lean against the wall where he couldn't be seen.

"Are you sure everything's okay?" Layla asked. "You know you can talk to me, sweetie."

"It's fine," Cobra said. "I just really wanna make her happy…"

"You do," Layla laughed. "Lucy loves you, Cobra."

Jude nearly took another step, but he froze when he heard paper crinkling.

"I got a letter from the college," Cobra said. "It's early, but me and Lucy applied together… Will you open it? I-I'm too scared to do it myself."

Jude wasn't aware that he was holding his breath as Layla took the letter from Cobra. She opened it, and he stood there in silence, wishing she would read faster.

"You got accepted," Layla said.

Jude smiled, breathing out a sigh of relief. That was just what Cobra needed. If he went to college, he could break out of the cycle life had thrown at him. He could truly make something wonderful of himself. He peered around the corner just as Layla wrapped Cobra in a tight hug.

"I'm so proud of you!"

She rocked Cobra back and forth in her excitement. But Jude's own smile faded when he saw how sad Cobra looked as tears dripped down his cheeks.

* * *

"You never told me you got into college," Lucy says, finishing the last of her coffee.

Erik wipes his mouth on a napkin, then takes a sip of coffee. "I couldn't go," he says. "I didn't get the scholarship I needed to go to an actual university, so I couldn't pay for it."

Lucy's shoulders slump and her brows draw together. He's sure she realizes exactly what happened to give him one more reason that he didn't go to college with her. Erik nods.

"And then when they took me out of that house, I had to spend all summer figuring things out so I could actually get my diploma. I started down at the community college the following spring."

He still isn't sure how he'd even survived that summer. Alex and his wife had taken him in, sure, but it was mostly a blur. A painful blur he hated thinking about.

"Why did you never call, Cobra?" Layla asks. "We missed you so much."

He winces, but Lucy grabs his hand and gives an abridged version of the story he told her the night before. He's so glad that he doesn't have to tell them all the details. He's positive she'll be doing it later on, after he's left. For the time being, she simply tells them that he'd found out his foster family was cooking meth, and reported them to the police. And that his social worker whisked him away on prom night, without giving him a chance to say goodbye to anyone and without his phone.

Erik looks at her parents. "You guys were like parents to me. You took me in when I needed it, and you never tried to stop me and Lucy from seeing each other. I really appreciated it, even back then."

He can feel his cheeks heating up when Lucy smiles up at him.

"Well, what are you up to now?" Layla asks. "You said something about students?"

Erik nods, smiling fondly. This is something he's truly proud of. "I'm a high school science teacher." Then he smirks down at Lucy. "I make the Biology kids dissect pigs."

"Not fetal pigs," she whimpers.

"Yep. The Anatomy kids get cats."

"Cobra, you… ew!"

He laughs when she lets go of his hand and wipes her hands on her pants. "If it's any consolation, I let them write an essay if they can't stomach it. Those kids get sent to the library to work away from the smell of formaldehyde." He has no trouble admitting that, every time one of those students pops up, he's reminded of Lucy. The teachers in the science department said it was endearing, that he took the time to understand his students' needs like that, but he just… He remembers how Lucy was so grossed out, and he doesn't want to put his own students through that for no reason.

"Monster!" she huffs. "I can't believe I had sex with you. It's so gross!"

"You agreed to date me after I dissected a frog for you," he laughs. "You've always known how gross I am."

Something warm bubbles in his chest when Jude and Layla laugh along with him.

"Also, it's state mandated," Erik adds. "I'm required to have them dissect animals. They've been donated for scientific research, so…"

Her lips purse and he can tell that she's trying with everything she's worth to stay mad at him. Then he playfully pinches her side, and she laughs. Yeah, he's still got it. "You're lucky you're cute," she grumbles.

"I know," he chuckles. "I've been getting by on looks alone for years. Can't you tell?"

While Layla laughs along with Lucy, Jude looks at Erik with a curious frown. "I must ask, though. About your eye."

"Jude!" Layla hisses.

"What?" he asks. "He had two of them last time we saw him."

This is definitely different. Jude must have mellowed out a lot in the last decade, because he suddenly seems much more like the slightly awkward husband, rather than a domineering father. Maybe it's just that Erik's matured in that time. He's able to see Jude as just another man, instead of his girlfriend's father. But he only recognizes this little back and forth between them because he's seen Alex do the same thing with his wife.

How did he never realize that Layla's the one running this household?

"Car accident," Erik says. "My friend Macbeth took out a few mailboxes, a stop sign, and half a fence before we hit the tree."

"He's the one I told you that everyone called Midnight," Lucy says. "Because he was always falling asleep in class." She giggles while looking into Erik's eye. "Did he fall asleep at the wheel?"

"Actually, yes," he says. Lucy blanches, but he waves it off. "We both went to community college for our Associate's, and we went out to celebrate when I got word that I had enough in scholarships to go to a university." He'd been ecstatic to see Macbeth roaming the campus during his second semester. Erik had latched onto him, just one small taste of the life he'd left behind.

"Drinking and driving?" Jude asks.

Erik shakes his head. "It was the middle of the day. I had to work that night, so we went and saw Inception. Macbeth ended up getting diagnosed with narcolepsy later that year."

"Y'know that does make sense," Lucy says. "Poor guy."

"You want poor… He's married to Angel."

"No!" Lucy gasps. "But he was kissing Natsu last night!"

Cobra laughs loudly when he sees her putting the pieces together. "Yeah, I try to stay out of their personal lives. I don't even want to know." All he knows is that Angel and Midnight have the strangest relationship he's ever seen. Midnight claimed years ago that he didn't like being emasculated, but he fell head over heels for Angel… And at some point, Erik assumed she'd found out that Midnight swung both ways. And she'd somehow accepted it.

He vaguely remembers a drunken conversation with Angel about how she liked watching Midnight with other men.

"Oh my god…" Lucy's speechless.

Cobra turns to Jude and Layla then. He's taken up more than enough time with his own life. What he cares about now is them. It's been so long since he's seen them. He wants to know about what he's missed. "What about you guys? What have I missed in the last ten years?"

"Well, our daughter moved back home," Layla says, smiling at Lucy who pouts. "Which I don't fault her for, because her stupid ex-husband got the house."

"And the dog," she mutters. "He took my little Plue."

"That thing was not a dog," Jude says. "It was a chihuahua, and it humped everything."

"Plue's just a lover!" she says defensively.

"It is, by far, the ugliest mongrel in existence," Jude says to Erik. "It has an underbite-"

"I think he's adorable," Lucy says.

"It's cross-eyed."

"It gives him character!"

"I watched that dog walk into a wall, back up and turn around in a circle, and do it again. For five minutes," Jude says flatly. "It's stupid."

"You're stupid," Lucy mutters under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" she squeaks. Erik chuckles quietly. God, she's adorable. "But yeah, Loke got the house. But I got his car. And alimony. And since I have, like, no credit score… I had to move back home."

"Oh, I took up scrapbooking!" Layla says. "I've got a whole blog thing about it."

Erik blinks. "That… seems like something you'd do." Layla smiles at him, and he shakes his head, chuckling quietly. Honestly, that's such a Layla thing to do. She _would_ write a blog about scrapbooking.

"And Dad has a corner office now," Lucy says.

"And I bought a Mustang," Jude says. "Midlife crisis. I hate it now."

As the conversation continues, Erik feels the warmth in his chest growing. This is the family he's missed so much. This is why he'd always felt like he really could be part of Lucy's family. Because they love each other, and he can feel that love reaching out to him, wrapping around him and drawing him closer. When Alex told him that he was being adopted, just before his 18th birthday, it was this same feeling that had drawn him into the Armstrong family.

He's wanted, here. He's loved. Even though he's been gone for so long, they still care about him.

It's while Lucy talks about her options for using her B.A. in English, and her fingers lace with his under the table, that Erik finds a kernel of hope blossoming in his chest. Maybe he doesn't have to worry about her wanting him out of her life.

Maybe this could be the place where they start over.

* * *

Lucy's nervous now. She's so unbelievably nervous, she's positive that her body is going to condense into a mass of molecules with enough energy to cause a supernova that will take out the entire galaxy. Erik has been at her parents' house with her for hours already, and they both know that it's nearing time for him to leave.

He's adamant about taking an Uber, though. He's dead-set on her not driving him home. It has worry coiling in her stomach, because she doesn't want this to be the end. She doesn't want him to just leave.

He'd said he loves her that morning. And she's sure that she's given him enough hints to know that she's serious about them getting back together. But maybe he has his own life that he doesn't actually want her to be a part of anymore.

What if he's moved on? What if this was just a one-off thing for him?

There's something in her that bellows how he's not that type of man, and he never would be.

Erik's collecting his clothes in her bedroom, and she takes a moment to replace his old Slipknot hoodie with a crop top that's much more appropriate for the June weather. She's fully enjoying the way it looks when he bends and picks up his ruined shirt from last night. He folds everything and tucks it under his arm. She's silent while he makes sure he has his wallet, keys, and phone.

Is it too much to want to beg him not to leave?

"All set," he says. She thinks she detects a hint of hesitation in his voice. But he still walks closer to where she's standing by the door, and he holds her hand while they walk down the stairs together.

She doesn't bother with putting shoes on as they walk out the front door and sit on the stoop. If he's going to be leaving, then she has no reason to wear shoes on the porch. Erik surprises her when he holds out his unlocked phone.

"I don't have your number," he says softly. Her cheeks flush as she looks up at him. "If you put it in my phone, I can call you later on. After I've had a chance to shower."

Lucy laughs while taking the phone. She puts in her number, then pauses. Just for good measure, she adds her email address as well. Just in case he decides to email her for some reason. She's tempted to log into his Facebook page and search for her profile, but that's a step too far. He can do that on his own… Or she can search for him from her phone.

She's reluctant to hand it back to him, but she does. He taps the screen a couple times, and she jumps when her phone vibrates in her pocket. It's a habit her mom is always getting on her case about, but she never has the ringer turned on… Regardless of the cute ringtones she's added for people. She pulls out her phone and frowns at the unfamiliar number. Then the call ends before she can decide whether or not to answer it. "Weird…"

Erik chuckles beside her. "And now you have my number too," he says.

Lucy smiles and sets her phone on the step beside her. A soft breeze rustles the leaves of the old oak tree in front of her house.

This is awkward. She knows he's waiting for his Uber to show up. She knows that they don't have much time left together before he'll leave, but she doesn't want it to end. And at the same time, she can't bring herself to talk. They'd talked for so long, catching up in her room after breakfast and going through that box that her mother had labelled for her after she'd left for college.

So many memories had cropped up, and she can't remember the last time she'd laughed so hard. It was so much fun reminiscing with him. Their first concert together. The school trip out to Akane Resort where he'd almost lost his swimsuit on one of the water rides. The set of size 0 plugs he'd gotten for her when she told him that was as large as she'd gauge her ears.

Erik had been shocked when he realized that her ears were still gauged. Lucy discreetly reached up to toy with the plug he'd popped into her ear, nearly laughing when she thinks about how surprised she'd been by it. And then how she'd realized that he was still missing one of his own plugs from when they'd been rolling around on the floor.

The resulting search had them both laughing upstairs.

This is even more awkward now. She doesn't want him to go. Why can't she just say something? Why isn't _he_ saying something?

He glances at his phone, and she peers over to see that he's watching the Uber app. The car that's going to take him away from her is right around the corner. Shit. This can't be happening. She doesn't want this to be the last time she sees him.

She has to do something. But what the hell can she do? There's no time! She wasted too much time just sitting here next to him.

Erik bites his lip and glances at her again. "It's a bit of a ride," he says. Lucy turns to look at him fully.

"I could text you," she says softly. "Make it less boring."

He smiles, and she wants to believe there's relief there. Is he just as nervous as she is? "I'd like that a lot," he says.

She wants to cry when the silver Prius with an Uber sticker on the windshield pulls into the driveway. It can't be over so soon. She doesn't want to sound needy, though. Or clingy. She can have patience. She can-

Lucy gasps when Erik's lips cover hers in a tender kiss. She can feel how desperate he is to deepen it when he groans and kisses her more intensely. His hand curves around the back of her neck, sifts through the short hairs at the base of her skull. His touch makes her tremble. She wants him like this, every day. Every second of every minute of every day, until she's a decrepit old bag of bones with saggy tits and enough flabby skin under her arms to morph into a damn flying squirrel.

The thought nearly sends her into a fit of hysterical laughter, but she refuses to ruin this kiss. It might be the last one she shares with him.

The driver honks his horn - it's in that moment that Lucy decides that only dickless, cockblocking cunts drive Priuses - and Erik pulls back on a gasp. "I-I should get going," he says.

"Yeah," she breathes. She completely disagrees with this. But if he really has to go, she can't force him to stay. "I'll text you."

"I'll be waiting," he says, smirking at her. Erik leans in for another quick kiss, pausing when the Uber driver honks his horn again. "Whoever this guy is, I'm gonna kill him."

Lucy grins and gives Erik one last quick peck on the lips. "Kill him extra hard for me."

Erik finally stands, but Lucy can't find the will to do the same. She just wants to sit and wallow for a minute, and watch him leave. She deserves this much, at least. She watches as he walks away, leans down to talk with the driver for a second - probably to make sure it's the right driver in the first place - then gets in the backseat. The driver backs out almost instantly.

Someone's in a fucking hurry.

Lucy sighs heavily and waits until she can't see that piece of shit Prius anymore. Then she picks up her phone. She finds herself smiling at the notification for a missed call. It takes no time at all to add his number under the name _Cobra_. She's sure it would be easier if she saved him as _Erik Vivas_ , but it just doesn't feel right.

With a shake of her head, Lucy finally stands and goes inside. She sighs while plopping down on the couch, staring at her empty text conversation with Cobra. She'd said she would text him… Now she has to think of what to say.

She could pour her heart out in a long message. She could send him some memes to make him laugh. She could ask him questions, maybe see if he'll send pictures of random stuff. She doesn't even know how far away he lives from her. It's close enough that he doesn't have to fly in a fucking plane, but that's not all that helpful.

Finally, Lucy decides to take a chance. Maybe it'll backfire. Maybe it won't. She won't know unless she just goes for it.

 _Lucy: Hey._

Real smooth. Still, she wants to be sure he'll text her back. Within seconds, she gets his response.

 _Cobra: Hey._

Well, that's a relief. Still, she has to do this. It's now or never. With a deep, steadying breath, Lucy types the message out and sends it. She realizes after the fact that she didn't proofread it, but she knows that if she had, her brain would have overruled this stupid decision and made her erase the whole thing.

When she reads it after the fact, she's relieved to find that there aren't any typos. The auto-correct gods didn't shit all over her for once.

 _Lucy: Cobra, will you go out with me again? Pick one.  
\- Yes.  
\- Never again.  
\- I'd rather dig up the corpse of the frog I dissected for you 13 years ago and eat it, Lucy._

She winces as she reads it. Maybe this is too forward. But it reminds her of the note he'd sent her in high school. And she'd learned after the fact that the reason he'd done it that way was because he was too nervous to ask her face-to-face. She'd thought he was even cuter because of that.

As one minute becomes two, she starts questioning whether this was a stupid idea. Why isn't he answering yet? Did she scare him off already?

Lucy jumps when her phone vibrates, swiping across the screen and checking the text he sent back. She frowns at the thumbnail that makes up his response, but clicks on it. And then she grins at the screenshot of their conversation that he's drawn on.

 _Lucy: Cobra, will you go out with me again? Pick one.  
_ _ **\- Yes!**_ _  
\- Never again._ _ **;(**_ _  
\- I'd rather dig up the corpse of the frog I dissected for you 13 years ago and eat it, Lucy._ _ **T_T**_

She wants to scream with joy. He said yes. Holy fucking shitballs, he said yes! Was this how he felt when he got her response to his note in Mr. Tucker's Biology class?

Lucy's heart jumps into her throat when he sends her another text.

 _Cobra: I still love you. I never stopped loving you. This is probably way too soon, but… Will you marry me?  
\- Hell yes.  
\- Maybe.  
\- Where the fuck is the ring, jackass?_

Lucy sits up on the couch, her spine rigid. Fuck. What?

What even…

"M-Mom?!" she shouts. "Mom! Oh my god… O-Oh my fucking god... _Mom_!"

Lucy stands on trembling legs when Layla comes running down the stairs and rushes into the living room. "What?" she asks, her eyes wide and searching for the axe murderer Lucy's shrieking led her to believe had broken into the house. "Lucy, what's wrong?"

"He…" she sputters. "C-Cobra…" She has no words. She doesn't know what she's supposed to say or do now, so she just shows her mom the phone. Lucy doesn't care that Layla's reading their conversation. She would've found out eventually that they were back together. But this? A proposal?

"Oh my god," Layla breathes. "Sweetie…" She can't tell if her mom sounds excited by this sudden turn of events, or sad.

"What do I do?" Lucy whimpers. She loves him, too. But they only just reconnected. It'll break his heart if she tells him no.

"I can't tell you that," Layla says. "This is your choice."

"B-But…" She can't breathe. This was what she'd wanted years ago. When they were still in high school, Lucy dreamed of the life they'd have together. Going to college together, getting married, having a family. She wanted it all with him.

Things hadn't gone that way, though. Cobra had been taken away from her. She'd gone to college without him. She'd married Loke, and gotten divorced, and uprooted her whole life when she came back to Magnolia.

It's too soon. He's right. It's way too soon.

Lucy glances over at her mother just as Jude pops his head in from the hallway leading to his study. "Is everything okay?" he asks, frowning.

Layla hands the phone back to Lucy, and when she looks at it, her eyes widen further. Her whole body is on fire, but she can't tell if it's from the sheer terror of this situation, or anger at her mom responding on her behalf… or something else entirely.

There on the screen is a message sent from her phone. A screenshot similar to Cobra's, and when she clicks on it, she can see that Layla used her Markup app to circle the response.

 ** _Where the fuck is the ring, jackass?_**

The reply from him is almost instant. She checks the timestamp and realizes that it took five minutes for him to get a message back from her. Oh god. How long must those five minutes have felt for him? Just to get a question about where the ring is.

 _Cobra: I bought the ring a long time ago, and it's one of the few things I never got rid of, no matter what happened._

Fuck. He actually has a ring? This isn't just some off-the-cuff decision to pop the question. He'd planned this to some degree. She knows that Erik had no idea she was going to be at the reunion. She know that their friends had planned that without their knowledge, to get them talking to each other again. She even knows that their romp the night before had been wholly unexpected.

She'd been the one to jump his bones that morning, too. But he had a ring.

Does that mean he was planning on asking her ten years ago when they were still in high school?

She has no idea what to say to him. She doesn't know where to take the conversation from here.

Her phone vibrates again, and tears well in her eyes.

 _Cobra: Knock knock._

Lucy nearly drops her phone as she turns and runs back to the front door. She wrenches it open, nearly bashing herself in the face when she forgets that it opens inward. And then she sees him, kneeling on her front porch with a black box held open, baring a simple golden band with a small ruby in the center.

Lucy's phone clatters to the floor. She can hear the blood rushing through her head. "Wh-What the hell?" she breathes, though she's barely even aware that she's spoken at all.

Erik's laugh is tense as their eyes meet. "It's fucking stupid," he says. "But I saved up when we were in school, and I was… Well, I was planning on asking you at prom."

He was going to propose to her at the prom? Knowing what she did now about him even asking for permission to take her to the dance, she wonders if her parents knew what he'd been planning.

"Well, I held onto it," he continues. He looks so scared. So worried. She knows how much he's struggled with opening up to people. Even with her, Erik has always had a hard time letting his guard down when it comes to how he feels. But now he's throwing it all out there. He's taking a chance. "I couldn't let it go."

Her vision goes a little blurry as her tears break free. She blinks, and that's when she notices how intense his gaze is. All this time, he loved her. He really never stopped loving her. And when he says he couldn't let this ring go, she knows that he means he couldn't let _her_ go, and how he felt about her.

"I know it's not much," he adds, and her lips curl up just a little at the corners. "And I can get you a better one now that I actually have a real job-"

"Yes."

Erik freezes, his brows furrowing. "What?"

"It's perfect," Lucy says. She's shaking. Her legs won't hold her much longer. "Don't change a thing. I'll marry you."

She doesn't care that there's so much they've missed in the last ten years. She can feel it. He's still the same person she fell in love with. He loves her more deeply than anyone else ever has. And she's always loved him.

She never would have told anyone else this, but he was the only one she wanted to marry.

"Seriously?" Erik asks, suddenly bewildered.

Lucy lets out a sound that's somewhere between a laugh and a sob, nodding when he stands in front of her. "S-Seriously."

They look down as her trembling hand lifts in the space between them, and that's when she sees that he's shaking just as much while pulling the ring from the box and sliding it onto her finger. It's a perfect fit. When she thinks about it, that must be why he'd wanted her to get measured for a class ring their senior year.

She loves that he got her birthstone as the gem for her ring. And when Lucy looks back up at him, she can see how happy he is shining in his glossy eye.

"I love you, Erik," she sniffles.

He doesn't say it back. He simply wraps his arms around her and kisses her with everything he has. And damn it all to hell, she doesn't ever want him to stop. She's not scared this time as her head tilts to one side and she deepens the kiss, her tongue spearing between his lips as her fingers sift through his hair.

By the time they separate, she can barely remember how to breathe. But it doesn't matter. She has him. They're going to get married. And he loves her. And she loves him. And she'd told him! She'd been so scared to say it back earlier. The last thing she wanted was to admit it - even though he'd already said it - and not have things work out.

"Wait, your Uber," she says, her eyes widening as she looks past him. The little silver Prius is gone.

"I had him turn around," Erik chuckles. His hands clasp at her lower back. "Did you know that Sting is an Uber driver?"

"Gajeel's little brother's boyfriend, Sting?"

Erik nods. "He had no problem with it when I told him what I texted you."

"What if I'd said no?" she asks.

He chuckles and shakes his head. "I have his number. He said he'd drive me home for free if I got rejected."

Lucy can't stop herself from laughing. She pulls back enough to wipe her eyes. And then she gets an idea. "How soon do you want to get married?"

"I dunno," he says. "I hadn't thought that far ahead. I want my parents to at least meet you first."

"How about right now?" she asks. It's spontaneous, and she's sure this is rushing things a bit, but she's excited to start her new life with him.

"Why the hell not?" he laughs. That's right. Erik has always been the adventurous type. He's always happy to jump feet first into a pile of fuck only knows what just to have a good time. "Alex is gonna love you."

Lucy steps back and turns to stomp into her boots, picking up her phone from the floor. "Shit, my purse."

"Right here!" Layla yells. She dashes down the stairs and into the foyer with Lucy's purse, an overnight bag with what Lucy is sure has all of the essentials from her bathroom and at least one change of clothes, and a manilla envelope. When the hell had her mother gone upstairs and started packing things?

"Will someone please tell me what in the world is going on?" Jude bellows as he runs down the stairs after Layla. "And why did you snatch her divorce papers from my file cabinet?"

Lucy's jaw drops, and she laughs along with Erik. She looks up at him, and their smiles widen even further while Lucy takes her purse and Erik takes the duffel bag and envelope. They turn and run out the door with her parents following behind.

"Have fun!" Layla calls out as they reach Lucy's car.

She unlocks the door and Erik hops into the passenger seat. Lucy looks back at her father, the poor soul. He looks so lost. "Cobra asked me to marry him!" she calls back.

"What?!" Jude bellows. He takes a step forward, then stops when Layla tries to drag him backward. "Lucy Anna Heartfilia, you get your butt back here right now!"

"Bye!" she hollers. Lucy jumps into the driver's seat and turns on the car. She rolls down the windows to combat the sweltering heat inside, and pulls out of the driveway. "I'll be back later!"

"Have fun!" Layla calls out.

"Cobra, bring my daughter back!" Jude yells at the top of his lungs. "Cobra!"

Erik and Lucy laugh, because it's the first time Jude's ever called him that. In all the years he'd been around, Erik had never been addressed directly by Jude. He'd never called the boy Cobra or Erik, instead just using eye contact to let him know that he was being spoken to.

Lucy puts her phone on silent as she drives away from her parents' house. She won't answer her father's phone calls. She'll talk to them later on.

"You're insane," Erik laughs.

She glances over at him when they reach a stop sign, and the smile she finds on his face is refreshing. It fills her chest with warmth and something new and exciting. Something she's never quite felt before. "But you love me," she says.

He reaches across the center console as she starts driving again, linking his hand with hers. After a minute, Lucy realizes that she has no idea where Erik actually lives. They'd both been too excited to think about that.

"Uh… So, how do I get to your place?" she asks.

Erik laughs and lets go of her hand long enough to pull up the directions on his phone. Once it's ready, he holds her hand again. "Up on the highway," he says. "We've gotta head about 50 miles east."

"Holy shit," she breathes.

"Yeah," he says. "I told you, it's a bit of a drive."

"No," she says, smirking over at him. "We should stop at Mickey D's to get some all-day breakfast for this excursion!"

The way he grins over at her has Lucy's insides wriggling with heat and desire. "I love the way you think."

Now they have a plan in place. McDonald's, then off to his house. Erik tells her as they finally make their way to the highway with two steak, egg, and cheese bagel meals that he needs a shower before they go and see Alex. By the look in his eye, he has more than just a shower planned. But that's something Lucy can fully get behind.

She's got ten years to make up for, after all.

* * *

By the time August rolls around, the video of Erik and Lucy dancing at the reunion has gone viral. The weeks leading up to the new school year are hectic, and he hates that he gets so little time with Lucy when he's stuck in pre-planning meetings and professional development classes. But they're a necessary part of his job, and the one that he opts in to take concerning recognizing mental trauma in students, and using restorative practices schoolwide for behavioral issues, is eye-opening. He's even happier that he convinced Alex to tag along with him for it, because their conversation afterward has him rethinking some of the procedures in his classroom for the coming year.

On the first Friday after school begins in early September, he's already gotten his homeroom under control. They're seniors, and they've spent four years being terrified of having _the one-eyed monster_ as their science teacher. He's busy taking attendance in homeroom while the morning show plays on the television mounted in the corner above his desk. Erik rarely pays attention to what's said on the morning show, but his class knows that they have to stay silent in case there's an important announcement.

When the principal, Dr. Tartaros, appears on the screen, and Erik hears his voice, he stops what he's doing. This is one of the few times he actually does pay attention. The principal really doesn't make a habit of making announcements on the morning show. He prefers to do it over the intercom.

" _Good morning, students and faculty. I hope you had an enjoyable summer, and that you've already completed your required reading assignments. Don't forget that Monday is the last day to request schedule changes. Please visit Mr. Jackal in the main office today for the appropriate forms, and return them to your homeroom teacher with a parent signature."_

Erik nods and makes a note to keep an eye out for an email later on with information on where he'll need to turn those forms in. Most likely, they'll be returned to Ms. Seilah, the principal's secretary.

" _Additionally, I would like to remind you all that your time at school is meant to be used for learning."_

Erik's seniors groan and slouch in their seats, and he smirks. Yes, the annual lecture from the principal is about to begin.

" _While it is important to maintain rigor in your studies, do not forget that these are the times you will make lasting memories. A shining example of this is our very own Mr. Vivas."_

Erik frowns and looks up at the screen to find the principal's coal black eyes piercing his soul. Fuck, no wonder he never gets on the morning show. He's a creepy motherfucker, even in his grey power suit with his long, flowing hair tied up into a high ponytail.

" _Let us all hope that we can use Mr. Vivas as an example of the way we should live our lives."_

The screen cuts to black for a moment, and all that can be heard is a round of cheers.

" _We didn't get the satisfaction of watching them dance to whatever bullshit song the school picked. So, to the Prom King and Queen of 2008, this one's for you!"_

Erik's jaw drops. He recognizes that fucking voice. Laxus. At the reunion. Motherfucker.

 _The camera lifts into the air and focuses on Erik in his black slacks and purple dress shirt, gently taking Lucy's hand in his, stopping her from running off the dance floor. He smiles at her as the song begins, and she kicks off her shoes, placing both hands in his._

" _Looks like we made it. Look how far we've come, my baby." It's clear that he's singing along to the song as he pulls her closer. Lucy laughs as he spins her around, stepping in behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist._

" _You're still the one I run to, the one that I belong to. You're still the one I want for life."_

Erik smiles as he watches the video, seeing from what he realizes is Laxus' perspective how Lucy flails when she's dipped, how she clutches herself to him and he helps to pull her back up.

He and Lucy never actually got around to watching this video. They'd both agreed that it was a little weird. Regardless of how many times their friends (and parents) shared it on social media, or the fact that Upworthy decided to write a fucking article about their story and how they'd gotten married within a week of being reunited (and, of course, embedded the damn video on the article's webpage), Erik and Lucy never actually watched it.

But now he's seeing it. And he sees what he'd missed before. He sees the way she looks up at him, how her fingers hesitate a moment before she lightly touches the tips of his hair. And he can finally see the way he looks at her. Erik knows how he feels when he sees Lucy, but it's written, clear as day, across his features every time she's close to him. It's obvious that he loves her in the way his hand rests on her lower back, how he gently strokes her spine.

Some of their dance moves are on the cheesy side, but he can't help but smile even wider when he sees her laughing in the video.

He completely forgets that he's in his classroom, and that his students are there, watching this video of him being reunited with the love of his life. Erik's thumb brushes across his wedding band, and he hums the song under his breath.

Now he's tempted to text his wife and tell her to watch it. But then he thinks better of it. He wants to be with her when she sees it for the first time.

" _I'm so glad we made it. Look how far we've come, my baby…" She steps closer to him, leaning into his embrace as they look into each other's eyes. Erik smirks as she touches the scar on his cheek, and her blush is fully visible._

 _Their quiet conversation isn't caught on the camera, but the way they quietly laugh together is. And then she grabs his face and drags him into a steamy kiss that raises loud cheers from the others in attendance at the reunion._

"Damn, Mr. Vivas," a student hollers as the class watches the way Erik crushes her to his chest and kisses her with everything he's worth. "Get some!"

"She's hot af, bro!"

Erik smirks over at his students. "I'd be careful what you say," he says.

"Ugh, that was so cute!" Chelia sighs in the back of the room, leaning over to her best friend Wendy. "Wasn't that the cutest thing ever?"

"I'd fuckin' tap that shit so fast," Dan groans. He chuckles while fist-bumping his friends.

The class goes silent as the principal's face appears on the television again. Erik's eye narrows at the shit-eating grin stretching over Mard's thin lips. That fucking troll. He's sure Alex and Mard teamed up to do this. This is the thanks he gets for inviting the asshole to the wedding.

" _We would like to wish Mr. Vivas our congratulations on his nuptials, and well wishes for the future."_

"What's that mean?" Dan asks, frowning.

"It means," Erik says, spinning in his chair to look at the class again. He smirks as he looks at the group of boys. "She's my fucking wife."

The silence that reigns supreme in his homeroom after that revelation is nearly enough to make him laugh. It's so quiet, he's sure he can hear miniature explosions going off in his students' heads. His phone vibrates on his desk, and he sees it's a text from Lucy. Erik doesn't make a habit of checking his messages during class, but just this once he'll make an exception. And when he reads it, he's glad he did.

 _Lucy: Ready for the mind-blowing moment of the century? Doctor says I'm pregnant. Say hello to our Baby Cobra._

The picture that follows is a blurry black and white image that he vaguely recognizes as a sonogram. He has no fucking clue what's what in the picture, but her name is at the top.

Vivas, Lucy A.

He's wide-eyed and in a daze as his phone falls from his hand. He doesn't know whether to jump for joy or just jump out the window, but he quickly picks his phone up and texts her back.

 _Cobra: Fuck yes! So glad I punctured holes in the condoms like Layla suggested!_

 _Lucy: Lol! Funny, Alex did the same thing with me! Said something about Armstrong family traditions._

His students are utterly terrified when Erik starts laughing so hard that tears leak from his eye. He married the woman of his dreams. If he questioned it before, he knows it's true now. His life is perfect.

* * *

 _ **.The End.**_

* * *

 **So, this is the official end of the story. I'd planned on writing a few scenes of Lucy meeting Alex and seeing what Cobra's adoptive family is like, but… I didn't feel like it, to be honest. I may return to this story one day to add a bonus chapter where we get to see that. For the time being, this story is complete. I hope you all enjoyed the happy ending that these two so totally deserve.**

 **And with that, I have now completed CoLu Week 2019!**


End file.
